Aerosol delivery device with modular lighter

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure is directed to an aerosol delivery device and a holder for use with a removable substrate cartridge. In one implementation, the holder includes a main body defining a proximal end and a distal end, the main body further defining a receiving chamber configured to receive at least a portion of a substrate cartridge, and an aerosol passageway that extends through at least a portion of the main body, a power source, and a modular lighter configured to ignite the ignitable heat source. The modular lighter is powered by the power source and is engageable with and separable from the main body.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present disclosure relates to aerosol delivery devices and systems,such as smoking articles; and more particularly, to aerosol deliverydevices and systems that utilize heat sources, such as combustiblecarbon-based ignition sources, for the production of aerosol (e.g.,smoking articles for purposes of yielding components of tobacco, tobaccoextracts, nicotine, synthetic nicotine, non-nicotine flavoring, andother materials in an inhalable form, commonly referred to asheat-not-burn systems or electronic cigarettes). Components of sucharticles may be made or derived from tobacco, or those articles may becharacterized as otherwise incorporating tobacco for human consumption,and which may be capable of vaporizing components of tobacco and/orother tobacco related materials to form an inhalable aerosol for humanconsumption.

BACKGROUND

Many smoking articles have been proposed through the years asimprovements upon, or alternatives to, smoking products based uponcombusting tobacco. Example alternatives have included devices wherein asolid or liquid fuel is combusted to transfer heat to tobacco or whereina chemical reaction is used to provide such heat source. Examplesinclude the smoking articles described in U.S. Pat. No. 9,078,473 toWorm et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The point of the improvements or alternatives to smoking articlestypically has been to provide the sensations associated with cigarette,cigar, or pipe smoking, without delivering considerable quantities ofincomplete combustion and pyrolysis products. To this end, there havebeen proposed numerous smoking products, flavor generators, andmedicinal inhalers which utilize electrical energy to vaporize or heat avolatile material, or attempt to provide the sensations of cigarette,cigar, or pipe smoking without burning tobacco to a significant degree.See, for example, the various alternative smoking articles, aerosoldelivery devices and heat generating sources set forth in the backgroundart described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al.; and U.S.Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2013/0255702 to Griffith, Jr. et al.; and2014/0096781 to Sears et al., which are incorporated herein byreference. See also, for example, the various types of smoking articles,aerosol delivery devices and electrically powered heat generatingsources referenced by brand name and commercial source in U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2015/0220232 to Bless et al., which is incorporated herein byreference. Additional types of smoking articles, aerosol deliverydevices and electrically powered heat generating sources referenced bybrand name and commercial source are listed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2015/0245659 to DePiano et al., which is also incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Other representative cigarettes or smokingarticles that have been described and, in some instances, been madecommercially available include those described in U.S. Pat. No.4,735,217 to Gerth et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,922,901, 4,947,874, and4,947,875 to Brooks et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,671 to Counts et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,586 to Morgan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,388,594 toCounts et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,977 to Higgins et al.; U.S. Pat. No.6,053,176 to Adams et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,287 to White; U.S. Pat.No. 6,196,218 to Voges; U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,883 to Felter et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 6,854,461 to Nichols; U.S. Pat. No. 7,832,410 to Hon; U.S. Pat.No. 7,513,253 to Kobayashi; U.S. Pat. No. 7,726,320 to Robinson et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 7,896,006 to Hamano; U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,756 to Shayan;U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2009/0095311 to Hon; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos.2006/0196518, 2009/0126745, and 2009/0188490 to Hon; U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2009/0272379 to Thorens et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos.2009/0260641 and 2009/0260642 to Monsees et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub.Nos. 2008/0149118 and 2010/0024834 to Oglesby et al.; U.S. Pat. App.Pub. No. 2010/0307518 to Wang; and WO 2010/091593 to Hon, which areincorporated herein by reference.

Various manners and methods for assembling smoking articles that possessa plurality of sequentially arranged segmented components have beenproposed. See, for example, the various types of assembly techniques andmethodologies set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 5,469,871 to Barnes et al. andU.S. Pat. No. 7,647,932 to Crooks et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos.2010/0186757 to Crooks et al.; 2012/0042885 to Stone et al., and2012/00673620 to Conner et al.; each of which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

Certain types of cigarettes that employ carbonaceous fuel elements havebeen commercially marketed under the brand names “Premier,” “Eclipse”and “Revo” by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. See, for example, thosetypes of cigarettes described in Chemical and Biological Studies on NewCigarette Prototypes that Heat Instead of Burn Tobacco, R. J. ReynoldsTobacco Company Monograph (1988) and Inhalation Toxicology, 12:5, p.1-58 (2000). Additionally, a similar type of cigarette has been marketedin Japan by Japan Tobacco Inc. under the brand name “Steam Hot One.”

In some instances, some smoking articles, particularly those that employa traditional paper wrapping material, are also prone to scorching ofthe paper wrapping material overlying an ignitable fuel source, due tothe high temperature attained by the fuel source in proximity to thepaper wrapping material. This can reduce enjoyment of the smokingexperience for some consumers and can mask or undesirably alter theflavors delivered to the consumer by the aerosol delivery components ofthe smoking articles. In further instances, traditional types of smokingarticles can produce relatively significant levels of gasses, such ascarbon monoxide and/or carbon dioxide, during use (e.g., as products ofcarbon combustion). In still further instances, traditional types ofsmoking articles may suffer from poor performance with respect toaerosolizing the aerosol forming component(s).

As such, it would be desirable to provide smoking articles that addressone or more of the technical problems sometimes associated withtraditional types of smoking articles. In particular, it would bedesirable to provide a smoking article that is easy to use and thatprovides reusable and/or replaceable components.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In various implementations, the present disclosure relates to aerosoldelivery devices and holders for use with removable and replaceablecartridges. The present disclosure includes, without limitation, thefollowing example implementations.

Example Implementation 1: A holder for use with a removable substratecartridge having an ignitable heat source, the holder comprising a mainbody defining a proximal end and a distal end, the main body furtherdefining a receiving chamber configured to receive at least a portion ofa substrate cartridge, and an aerosol passageway that extends through atleast a portion of the main body, a power source, and a modular lighterconfigured to ignite the ignitable heat source, wherein the modularlighter is powered by the power source, and wherein the modular lighteris engageable with and separable from the main body.

Example Implementation 2: The holder of Example Implementation 1, or anycombination of preceding example implementations, wherein the modularlighter comprises an inductive heating assembly.

Example Implementation 3: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-2, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter includes a resonanttransmitter comprising an induction coil located proximate at least aportion of the receiving chamber.

Example Implementation 4: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-3, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter comprises a conductiveheating assembly.

Example Implementation 5: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-4, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter includes a heating elementlocated proximate the ignitable heat source when the modular lighter isengaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 6: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-5, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the heating element comprises a heating coilconfigured to contact the ignitable heat source when the modular lighteris engaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 7: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-6, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter is automatically activatedwhen the modular lighter is engaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 8: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-7, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter is activated via a buttonafter the modular lighter is engaged with the main body.

Example Implementations 9: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-8, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, further comprising an ejection mechanism configured toeject the substrate cartridge from the receiving chamber.

Example Implementation 10: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-9, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, further comprising a mouthpiece portion.

Example Implementation 11: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-10, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the mouthpiece portion is integral with themain body.

Example Implementation 12: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-11, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the mouthpiece portion is removable from themain body.

Example Implementation 13: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-12, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, further comprising a removable outer sleeve configuredto slide over at least a portion of the main body.

Example Implementation 14: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-13, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter and the power source arehoused in the removable outer sleeve, so that engagement of theremovable outer sleeve with the main body engages the modular lighterwith the main body.

Example Implementation 15: The holder of any one of ExampleImplementations 1-14, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter is engageable with andremovable from the removable outer sleeve, so that engagement of theremovable outer sleeve with the main body and engagement of the modularlighter with the removable outer sleeve engages the modular lighter withthe main body.

Example Implementation 16: An aerosol delivery device comprising aremovable cartridge comprising an ignitable heat source and a substrateportion that includes a substrate material having an aerosol precursorcomposition configured to form an aerosol upon application of heatthereto from the heat source, and a holder comprising a main bodydefining a proximal end and a distal end, the main body further defininga receiving chamber configured to receive at least a portion of asubstrate cartridge, and an aerosol passageway that extends through atleast a portion of the main body, a power source, and a modular lighterconfigured to ignite the ignitable heat source, wherein the modularlighter is powered by the power source, and wherein the modular lighteris engageable with and separable from the main body.

Example Implementation 17: The aerosol delivery device of ExampleImplementation 16, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter comprises an inductiveheating assembly.

Example Implementation 18: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-17, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter includes a resonanttransmitter comprising an induction coil located proximate at least aportion of the receiving chamber.

Example Implementation 19: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-18, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter comprises a conductiveheating assembly.

Example Implementation 20: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-19, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter includes a heating elementlocated proximate the ignitable heat source when the modular lighter isengaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 21: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-20, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the heating element comprises a conductiveheating coil configured to contact the ignitable heat source when themodular lighter is engaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 22: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-21, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter is automatically activatedwhen the modular lighter is engaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 23: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-22, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter is activated via a buttonafter the modular lighter is engaged with the main body.

Example Implementation 24: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-23, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, further comprising an ejection mechanism configured toeject the substrate cartridge from the receiving chamber.

Example Implementation 25: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-24, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, further comprising a mouthpiece portion.

Example Implementation 26: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-25, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the mouthpiece portion is integral with themain body.

Example Implementation 27: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-26, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the mouthpiece portion is removable from themain body.

Example Implementation 28: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-27, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, further comprising a removable outer sleeve configuredto slide over at least a portion of the main body.

Example Implementation 29: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-28, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter and the power source arehoused in the removable outer sleeve, so that engagement of theremovable outer sleeve with the main body engages the modular lighterwith the main body.

Example Implementation 30: The aerosol delivery device of any one ofExample Implementations 16-29, or any combination of preceding exampleimplementations, wherein the modular lighter is engageable with andremovable from the removable outer sleeve, so that engagement of theremovable outer sleeve with the main body and engagement of the modularlighter with the removable outer sleeve engages the modular lighter withthe main body.

These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the disclosure willbe apparent from a reading of the following detailed descriptiontogether with the accompanying drawings, which are briefly describedbelow. The invention includes any combination of two, three, four, ormore of the above-noted embodiments as well as combinations of any two,three, four, or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure,regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combinedin a specific embodiment description herein. This disclosure is intendedto be read holistically such that any separable features or elements ofthe disclosed invention, in any of its various aspects and embodiments,should be viewed as intended to be combinable unless the context clearlydictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Having thus described the disclosure in the foregoing general terms,reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings, which are notnecessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 illustrates perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body and a modular lighter, anda removable cartridge, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body and a modular lighter, anda removable cartridge, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates perspective view of a main body, a modular lighter,and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates perspective view of a main body, a modular lighter,and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body and a modular lighter, anda removable cartridge, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body and a modular lighter, anda removable cartridge, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of a main body and a removablecartridge, according to one implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8A illustrates a longitudinal schematic view of an aerosol deliverydevice comprising a holder that includes a main body and a modularlighter, and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 8B illustrates a longitudinal schematic view of an aerosol deliverydevice comprising a holder that includes a main body and a modularlighter, and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of a removable cartridge,according to one implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 illustrates a longitudinal schematic view of a removablecartridge, according to one implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of a removable cartridge,according to one implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 illustrates a longitudinal schematic view of a removablecartridge, according to one implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 illustrates perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body, an outer sleeve, and amodular lighter, and a removable cartridge, according to oneimplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 illustrates top view of an aerosol delivery device comprising aholder that includes a main body, an outer sleeve, and a modularlighter, and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 15 illustrates perspective view of a main body, an outer sleeve,and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 16 illustrates perspective view of a main body, an outer sleeve,and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation of thepresent disclosure;

FIG. 17 illustrates perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body, an outer sleeve, and amodular lighter, and a removable cartridge, according to oneimplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 18A illustrates top view of an outer sleeve, a modular lighter, anda removable cartridge, according to one implementation of the presentdisclosure;

FIG. 18B illustrates perspective view of an outer sleeve, a modularlighter, and a removable cartridge, according to one implementation ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 19 illustrates a perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body, an outer sleeve, and amodular lighter, and a removable cartridge, according to oneimplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 20 illustrates a perspective view of an aerosol delivery devicecomprising a holder that includes a main body, an outer sleeve, and amodular lighter, and a removable cartridge, according to oneimplementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 21 illustrates a perspective view of a main body and a removablecartridge, according to one implementation of the present disclosure;

FIG. 22A illustrates a longitudinal schematic cross-section view of anaerosol delivery device comprising a holder that includes a main bodyand a modular lighter, and a removable cartridge, according to oneimplementation of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 22B illustrates a longitudinal schematic cross-section view of anaerosol delivery device comprising a holder that includes a main bodyand a modular lighter, and a removable cartridge, according to oneimplementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter withreference to example embodiments thereof. These example embodiments aredescribed so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in theart. Indeed, the disclosure is embodied in many different forms andshould not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein;rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure willsatisfy applicable legal requirements. As used in the specification, andin the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, “the”, includeplural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The present disclosure provides descriptions of articles (and theassembly and/or manufacture thereof) in which a material is heated(preferably without combusting the material to any significant degree)to form an aerosol and/or an inhalable substance; such articles mostpreferably being sufficiently compact to be considered “hand-held”devices. In some aspects, the articles are characterized as smokingarticles. As used herein, the term “smoking article” is intended to meanan article and/or device that provides many of the sensations (e.g.,inhalation and exhalation rituals, types of tastes or flavors,organoleptic effects, physical feel, use rituals, visual cues such asthose provided by visible aerosol, and the like) of smoking a cigarette,cigar, or pipe, without any substantial degree of combustion of anycomponent of that article and/or device. As used herein, the term“smoking article” does not necessarily mean that, in operation, thearticle or device produces smoke in the sense of an aerosol resultingfrom by-products of combustion or pyrolysis of tobacco, but rather, thatthe article or device yields vapors (including vapors within aerosolsthat are considered to be visible aerosols that might be considered tobe described as smoke-like) resulting from volatilization orvaporization of certain components, elements, and/or the like of thearticle and/or device. In some aspects, articles or devicescharacterized as smoking articles incorporate tobacco and/or componentsderived from tobacco.

As noted, aerosol delivery devices may provide many of the sensations(e.g., inhalation and exhalation rituals, types of tastes or flavors,organoleptic effects, physical feel, use rituals, visual cues such asthose provided by visible aerosol, and the like) of smoking a cigarette,cigar or pipe that is employed by lighting and burning tobacco (andhence inhaling tobacco smoke), without any substantial degree ofcombustion of any component thereof. For example, the user of an aerosoldelivery device in accordance with some example implementations of thepresent disclosure can hold and use that device much like a smokeremploys a traditional type of smoking article, draw on one end of thatpiece for inhalation of aerosol produced by that piece, take or drawpuffs at selected intervals of time, and the like.

Articles or devices of the present disclosure are also characterized asbeing vapor-producing articles, aerosol delivery articles, or medicamentdelivery articles. Thus, such articles or devices are adaptable so as toprovide one or more substances in an inhalable form or state. Forexample, inhalable substances are substantially in the form of a vapor(e.g., a substance that is in the gas phase at a temperature lower thanits critical point). Alternatively, inhalable substances are in the formof an aerosol (e.g., a suspension of fine solid particles or liquiddroplets in a gas). For purposes of simplicity, the term “aerosol” asused herein is meant to include vapors, gases, and aerosols of a form ortype suitable for human inhalation, whether or not visible, and whetheror not of a form that might be considered to be smoke-like. In someimplementations, the terms “vapor” and “aerosol” may be interchangeable.Thus, for simplicity, the terms “vapor” and “aerosol” as used todescribe the disclosure are understood to be interchangeable unlessstated otherwise.

In use, smoking articles of the present disclosure are subjected to manyof the physical actions of an individual in using a traditional type ofsmoking article (e.g., a cigarette, cigar, or pipe that is employed bylighting with a flame and used by inhaling tobacco that is subsequentlyburned and/or combusted). For example, the user of a smoking article ofthe present disclosure holds that article much like a traditional typeof smoking article, draws on one end of that article for inhalation ofan aerosol produced by that article, and takes puffs at selectedintervals of time.

While the systems are generally described herein in terms ofimplementations associated with smoking articles such as so-called“tobacco heating products,” it should be understood that the mechanisms,components, features, and methods may be embodied in many differentforms and associated with a variety of articles. For example, thedescription provided herein may be employed in conjunction withimplementations of traditional smoking articles (e.g., cigarettes,cigars, pipes, etc.), heat-not-burn cigarettes, and related packagingfor any of the products disclosed herein. Accordingly, it should beunderstood that the description of the mechanisms, components, features,and methods disclosed herein are discussed in terms of implementationsrelating to aerosol delivery devices by way of example only, and may beembodied and used in various other products and methods.

Aerosol delivery devices of the present disclosure generally include anumber of components provided within an outer body or shell, which maybe referred to as a housing. The overall design of the outer body orshell can vary, and the format or configuration of the outer body thatcan define the overall size and shape of the aerosol delivery device canvary. In some example implementations, an elongated body resembling theshape of a cigarette or cigar can be formed from a single, unitaryhousing or the elongated housing can be formed of two or more separablebodies. For example, an aerosol delivery device can comprise anelongated shell or body that can be substantially tubular in shape and,as such, resemble the shape of a conventional cigarette or cigar. Inanother example, an aerosol delivery device may be substantiallyrectangular or have a substantially rectangular cuboid shape. In oneexample, all of the components of the aerosol delivery device arecontained within one housing. Alternatively, an aerosol delivery devicecan comprise two or more housings that are joined and are separable. Forexample, an aerosol delivery device can possess one portion comprising ahousing containing one or more reusable components (e.g., an accumulatorsuch as a rechargeable battery and/or rechargeable supercapacitor, andvarious electronics for controlling the operation of that article), andremovably coupleable thereto, another second portion (e.g., amouthpiece) and/or a disposable component (e.g., a disposableflavor-containing cartridge containing aerosol precursor material,flavorant, etc.). More specific formats, configurations and arrangementsof components within the single housing type of unit or within amulti-piece separable housing type of unit will be evident in light ofthe further disclosure provided herein. Additionally, various aerosoldelivery device designs and component arrangements can be appreciatedupon consideration of the commercially available electronic aerosoldelivery devices.

As will be discussed in more detail below, holders of aerosol deliverydevices of the present disclosure may include one or more componentsconfigured to receive and ignite a heat source of a substrate cartridge.Some components may include a power source (e.g., an electrical powersource), and at least one control component (e.g., means for actuating,controlling, regulating and ceasing power, such as by controllingelectrical current flow from the power source to other components of thearticle—e.g., a microprocessor, individually or as part of amicrocontroller, a printed circuit board (PCB) that includes amicroprocessor and/or microcontroller, etc.). Such holders may beconfigured to accept one or more substrate cartridges that include asubstrate material capable of yielding an aerosol upon application ofsufficient heat. In some implementations, the holder may include amouthpiece portion configured to allow drawing upon the holder foraerosol inhalation (e.g., a defined airflow path through the holder suchthat aerosol generated can be withdrawn therefrom upon draw).

In various aspects, the heat source of a cartridge may be capable ofgenerating heat to aerosolize a substrate material of the cartridge thatcomprises, for example, an extruded structure and/or substrate, asubstrate material associated with an aerosol precursor composition,tobacco and/or a tobacco related material, such as a material that isfound naturally in tobacco that is isolated directly from the tobacco orsynthetically prepared, in a solid or liquid form (e.g., beads, sheets,shreds, a wrap), or the like. As will be described in more detail below,in some implementations, an extruded structure may comprise tobaccoproducts or a composite of tobacco with other materials such as, forexample, ceramic powder. In other implementations, a tobaccoextract/slurry may be loaded into porous ceramic beads. Otherimplementations may use non-tobacco products. In some implementationsaerosol precursor composition-loaded porous beads/powders (ceramics) maybe used. In other implementations, rods/cylinders made of extrudedslurry of ceramic powder and aerosol precursor composition may be used.

According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, it may beadvantageous to provide an aerosol delivery device that is easy to useand that provides reusable and/or replaceable components. FIGS. 1-8Billustrate one example implementation of such a device. In particular,FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a perspective view of an aerosol deliverydevice 100 that includes a holder 200 and a removable cartridge 300,according to one implementation of the present disclosure. In thedepicted implementation, a portion of the holder 200 (e.g., the mainbody portion 202) is configured to receive at least a portion of theremovable cartridge 300. The holder 200 of the depicted implementationcomprises a main body 202, a mouthpiece portion 204, and an outer sleeve203 that includes a modular lighter 205, wherein the main body 202defines a proximal end 206 and a distal end 208 (see FIG. 3). In thedepicted implementation, the mouthpiece portion 204 is located proximatethe proximal end 206 of the main body 202, and more particularly, aproximal end of the mouthpiece portion 204 defines the proximal end 206of the main body 202. In the depicted implementation, the mouthpieceportion 204 is integral with the main body 202; however, in otherimplementations, the mouthpiece portion may be removable from the mainbody.

As will be described in more detail below, the outer sleeve 203 of theholder 200 of the depicted implementation is configured to slide over aportion of the main body 202 and is engageable with and removabletherefrom. In the depicted implementation, the modular lighter 205 ishoused in the outer sleeve 203, and engagement of the outer sleeve 203with the main body 202, engages the modular lighter 205 with the mainbody 202. In various implementations, with a substrate cartridgereceived within the main body, and with the modular lighter engaged withthe main body, the modular lighter may be used to ignite an ignitableheat source of the substrate cartridge.

In the depicted implementation, the outer sleeve 203 includes one ormore openings 209 located on the outer housing in a position configuredto be proximate the heat source of the removable cartridge 300 when theremovable cartridge 300 is received in the main body 302 and the outersleeve 203 is engaged with the main body 202. In such a manner, theopenings 209 may provide the heat source with access to oxygen such thatthe heat source remains ignited after lighter portion of the modularlighter activated. As such, in some implementations, the lighter portionof the modular lighter may activate for a limited period of time. In thedepicted implementation, the openings 209 comprise a plurality ofopenings that extend around a periphery of the outer sleeve, arranged inmultiple rows.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, in the depicted implementation, one end of theouter sleeve 203 abuts the mouthpiece portion 204 when the outer sleeve203 is fully engaged with the main body. In some implementations, themain body and/or the outer sleeve may include one or more retentionfeatures in order to maintain engagement between the outer sleeve andthe main body. For example, the outer sleeve and/or the main body mayinclude one or more resilient members, one or more protrusions and/orspring features and corresponding detent features, one or moreinterference fit features, one or more retractable features, one or moremagnets, etc. In still other implementations, a releasable screw-typeconnection may be used. Combinations of any two or more of any retainingfeatures may also be used.

In various implementations, the holder (or any components thereof) maybe made of moldable plastic materials such as, for example,polycarbonate, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS),polyamide (Nylon), or polypropylene. In other implementations, theholder (or any components thereof) may be made of a different material,such as, for example, a different plastic material, a metal material(such as, but not limited to, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper,silver, gold, bronze, titanium, various alloys, etc), a graphitematerial, a glass material, a ceramic material, a natural material (suchas, but not limited to, a wood material), a composite material, or anycombinations thereof. As noted above, the mouthpiece portion of someimplementations is separable from the main body, while in otherimplementations, the mouthpiece portion may be integral with the mainbody. In any event, the mouthpiece portion and the main body may be madeof the same material or different materials. In various implementationscomprising a separable mouthpiece portion, the mouthpiece portion may becoupled to the main body in a variety of ways, including, for example,via one or more of a snap-fit, interference fit, screw thread, magnetic,and/or bayonet connection. As noted, in other implementations themouthpiece portion may be integral with the main body and thus may notbe separable.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the main body 202, modularlighter 205, and removable cartridge 300 of FIGS. 1-2. As illustrated inthe figure, the main body 202 of the depicted implementation includes anopening 210 located proximate the distal end 208 and through which aportion of the cartridge 300 is received. In the depictedimplementation, the opening 210 of the holder 200 leads to a receivingchamber 212 (see FIGS. 8A and 8B) located within the main body 202. Themain body 202 of the depicted embodiment also includes an aerosolpassage 228 that leads from the receiving chamber 212 to an opening 215defined in the proximate end 206 of the mouthpiece portion 204 of theholder 200, and through which aerosol is delivered to a user. In variousimplementations, a cartridge may be received by the main body of theholder (and in particular, the receiving chamber) into a lighting/useposition. As will be described in more detail below, in the lighting/useposition the heat source of the cartridge may be ignited, and theignited heat source may aerosolize substrate material contained thereinfor delivery to a user. It should be noted that although in the depictedimplementation the lighting/use position comprises a single position, inother implementations, a lighting position and a use position maycomprise separate positions.

FIG. 4 illustrates the main body 202 of the holder 200, and theremovable cartridge 300 of the aerosol delivery device 100 of FIGS. 1-2,with the cartridge 300 inserted in the opening 210 of the holder 200such as to locate the cartridge 300 in the lighting/use positon. In thelighting/use position of the depicted implementation, a portion of thecartridge 300 is received in the receiving chamber 212 and a portion ofthe cartridge 300 extends outside of the receiving chamber 212. In thelighting/use position of various implementations, a cartridge may bereceived into the holder to varying degrees. For example, in thelighting/use position of some implementations, less than a half of thelength of the cartridge may be located within the main body of theholder (e.g., less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than20%, less than 10%, etc.). In the lighting/use position of otherimplementations, approximately half of the length of the cartridge maybe received into the main body of the holder. In the lighting/useposition of other implementations, more than a half of the length of thecartridge may be received into the main body of the holder (e.g., morethan 50%, more than 60%, more than 70%, more than 80%, more than 90%,etc). In sill other embodiments, the cartridge may be fully received inthe main body (e.g., no portion of the cartridge may extend outside ofthe main body). As will be described in more detail below, in thelighting/use position the lighter portion is configured to ignite theheat source of an inserted substrate cartridge.

In the depicted implementation, the holder 200 includes a cartridgeretention assembly configured to retain the portion of the cartridge inthe receiving chamber 212 in the lighting/use position. In the depictedimplementation, the cartridge retention assembly comprises a magneticretention mechanism, wherein when the portion of the cartridge 300 ispushed into and received within the receiving chamber 212, the portionof the cartridge 300 is magnetically maintained in the receiving chamber212 and thus is temporarily “locked” in place within the main body 202.For example, in some implementations at least a portion of the outerhousing of the cartridge may be made of a ferromagnetic material, andthe receiving chamber may include one or more magnets. In otherimplementations, however, other retaining features may be used. Forexample, in some implementations one or more retention spheres may formpart of a cartridge retention assembly. In other implementations, acartridge retention assembly may comprise one or more resilient members,such as, for example, one or more O-rings, and/or other retainingfeatures that include one or more resilient features that extend intothe receiving chamber in order to engage a portion of the outer surfaceof the cartridge. In other implementations, an outer housing of thecartridge and/or the receiving chamber may include one or moreprotrusions and/or spring features and corresponding detent featuresconfigured to retain the cartridge in the receiving chamber. In stillother implementations, an inner surface of the receiving chamber mayhave a decreasing diameter (and/or one or more portions having adecreased diameter) that may be configured to retain the cartridge inthe receiving chamber. In other implementations, the holder may includeactively retractable features (e.g., features that are activelyretractable by a user) configured to engage the cartridge to retain itin the receiving chamber. In other implementations, the holder mayinclude one or more wedge features configured to engage and retain thecartridge in the receiving chamber. In still other implementations, oneor more other features of the cartridge and/or one or more features ofthe holder may create a releasable connection between the receivingchamber and the cartridge. For example, in some implementations, thecartridge and the receiving chamber may have a releasable screw-typeconnection. Combinations of two or more retaining features may also beused.

FIG. 5 illustrates the holder 200 after the cartridge 300 has beenreceived in the receiving chamber and the outer sleeve 203 has beeninserted over a portion of the main body 202. In such a manner, themodular lighter 205 is in a position configured to ignite the ignitableheat source of the cartridge 300. In particular, a lighter portion ofthe modular lighter 205 is located proximate the ignitable heat sourceof the cartridge 300 so that once activated, the lighter portion of themodular lighter 205 can ignite the ignitable heat source of thecartridge 300. FIG. 6 illustrates the holder 200 after the modularlighter 205 has been activated. In the depicted implementation, themodular lighter 205 includes an indicator 226 configured to providevisual indication that the lighter portion has been activated and/or isactive.

In the depicted implementation, after the ignitable heat source of thecartridge 300 has been ignited, the heat source aerosolizes substratematerial contained in the cartridge 300 for delivery to a user throughthe main body 202 of the holder 200. Although not depicted in thefigures, the holder of some implementations may include one or moreapertures therein for allowing entrance of ambient air to be directedinto the receiving chamber and/or the aerosol passageway (such as, forexample, through the substrate cartridge and/or downstream from thesubstrate cartridge). Thus, when a user draws on the holder (e.g., viathe mouthpiece portion thereof), air may be drawn into the receivingchamber and/or the aerosol passageway for inhalation by the user.

In some implementations, the holder may include an ejection mechanism.In such a manner, the ejection mechanism may be configured to eject acartridge from the holder. FIG. 7 illustrates the main body 202 of thedepicted implementation after the cartridge 300 has been ejected fromthe receiving chamber 212 of the main body 202 through the opening 210.In the depicted implementation, the ejection mechanism is actuated bymoving button 207 toward the proximal end 206 of the main body 202,which moves the cartridge 300 in the direction of the distal end 208 ofthe main body 202, thus separating the magnetic retention and eventuallyejecting the cartridge 300 from the main body 202. It should be notedthat in other implementations, an ejection mechanism may operate and/orbe activated in other ways. Still other implementations need not includean ejection mechanism.

As noted, the holder of an aerosol delivery device of variousimplementations of the present disclosure includes a modular lighterconfigured to ignite the heat source of a substrate cartridge. FIGS. 8Aand 8B illustrate schematic views of the holder 200 and cartridge 300 ofthe aerosol delivery device 100 of FIGS. 1-7. In the depictedimplementation, the lighter portion of the modular lighter 205 comprisesan inductive heating assembly 220. As will be described in more detailbelow, the inductive heating assembly of various implementations isconfigured to inductively ignite the ignitable heat source of thesubstrate cartridge. In the depicted implementation, the modular lighter205 is housed in the removable outer sleeve 203 and includes a controlcomponent 222 (e.g., a microprocessor, individually or as part of amicrocontroller, a printed circuit board (PCB) that includes amicroprocessor and/or microcontroller, etc.), a power source 224 (e.g.,a battery, which may be rechargeable, and/or a rechargeablesupercapacitor), and an indicator 226 (e.g., a light emitting diode(LED)). It should be noted that although in the depicted implementationthe power source 224 and the control component 222 are located in themodular lighter 205, in other implementations one or both of the powersource and the control component may be located in the main body.

In various implementations, the modular lighter and/or the main body maybe characterized as being disposable in that the modular lighter and/orthe main body may be configured for only a limited number of uses (e.g.,until a battery power component no longer provides sufficient power tothe article) with a limited number of substrate cartridges and,thereafter, the modular lighter may be discarded. In someimplementations, the modular lighter may have a replaceable power source(e.g., a replaceable battery) such that the holder may be reused througha number of power source exchanges and with many substrate cartridges.In other implementations, the modular lighter may be rechargeable andthus may be combined with any type of recharging technology. Forexample, the holder may have a replaceable battery or a rechargeablebattery, solid-state battery, thin-film solid-state battery,rechargeable supercapacitor or the like, and thus may be combined withany type of recharging technology, including connection to a wallcharger, connection to a car charger (i.e., cigarette lighterreceptacle), and connection to a computer, such as through a universalserial bus (USB) cable or connector (e.g., USB 2.0, 3.0, 3.1, USBType-C), connection to a photovoltaic cell (sometimes referred to as asolar cell) or solar panel of solar cells, a wireless charger, such as acharger that uses inductive wireless charging (including for example,wireless charging according to the Qi wireless charging standard fromthe Wireless Power Consortium (WPC)), or a wireless radio frequency (RF)based charger. An example of an inductive wireless charging system isdescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2017/0112196 to Sur et al., whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Further, in someimplementations, the mouthpiece portion may comprise a single-usedevice. A single use component for use with a control body is disclosedin U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,639 to Chang et al., which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. In some implementations, the holder may beinserted into and/or coupled with a separate charging station forcharging a rechargeable battery of the device. In some implementations,the charging station itself may include a rechargeable power source thatrecharges the rechargeable battery of the device. In the depictedimplementation, the modular lighter 205 includes a power source 224 thatcomprises a rechargeable power source, and the outer sleeve 203 furtherincludes one or more electrical contacts 211 configured for rechargingthe rechargeable power source.

Some additional examples of possible power sources are described in U.S.Pat. No. 9,484,155 to Peckerar et al., and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2017/0112191 to Sur et al., filed Oct. 21, 2015, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their respectiveentireties. Reference also is made to the control schemes described inU.S. Pat. No. 9,423,152 to Ampolini et al., which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. In one implementation, the indicator maycomprise one or more light emitting diodes, quantum dot-based lightemitting diodes or the like. The indicator can be in communication withthe control component and be illuminated, for example, when the lighterportion is active.

In the depicted implementation, the inductive heating assembly 220 isused to ignite the ignitable heat source of the cartridge 300. Invarious implementations, the inductive heating assembly may comprise aresonant transmitter configured to interact with a resonant receiver(e.g., susceptor material). In such a manner, the heat source of acartridge of the present disclosure may be ignited by directingalternating current to the resonant transmitter to produce anoscillating magnetic field in order to induce eddy currents in theresonant receiver. In various implementations of the present disclosure,the resonant receiver may be a susceptor material that comprises atleast a part of the heat source (e.g., the heat source material itself,and/or one or more components mixed with the heat source material). Thisalternating current causes the susceptor material to generate heatthereby igniting the ignitable heat source. Examples of variousinductive heating methods and configurations are described in U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2019/0124979 to Sebastian et al., which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety. Further examples of variousinduction-based control components and associated circuits are describedin U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2018/0132531 to Sur et al., and U.S. PatentApp. Pub. No. 2017/0202266 to Sur et al., each of which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

Although in various implementations the resonant transmitter may have avariety of forms, in the depicted implementation the resonanttransmitter comprises an induction coil 230 (such as, but not limitedto, a helical coil having any number of turns). In some implementations,the induction coil may surround a support cylinder. In variousimplementations, the resonant transmitter may be made of one or moreconductive materials, including, for example, silver, gold, aluminum,brass, zinc, iron, nickel, and alloys of thereof, conductive ceramicse.g., yttrium-doped zirconia, indium tin oxide, yttrium doped titanate,etc, and any combination of the above. In the depicted implementation,the induction coil 230 is made of a conductive metal material, such ascopper. In further implementations, the induction coil may include anon-conductive insulating cover/wrap material. Such materials mayinclude, for example, one or more polymeric materials, such as epoxy,silicon rubber, etc., which may be helpful for low temperatureapplications, or fiberglass, ceramics, refractory materials, etc., whichmay be helpful for high temperature applications. It should be notedthat although the depicted implementation describes a single resonanttransmitter, in other implementations, there may be multiple independentresonant transmitters, including, for example, implementations havingsegmented inductive heating arrangements.

As noted, in some implementations a change in current in the resonanttransmitter (e.g., an induction coil), as directed thereto from thepower source by the control component (e.g., via a driver circuit) mayproduce an alternating electromagnetic field that penetrates thesusceptor material, thereby generating electrical eddy currents withinthe susceptor material. In some implementations, the alternatingelectromagnetic field may be produced by directing alternating currentto the resonant transmitter. In some implementations, the controlcomponent may include an inverter or inverter circuit configured totransform direct current provided by the power source to alternatingcurrent that is provided to the resonant transmitter. As such, theresonant transmitter and the heat source of a cartridge may bepositioned proximate each other in order to ignite the heat source or aportion thereof by inductive heating.

The eddy currents flowing in the susceptor material may generate heatthrough the Joule effect, wherein the amount of heat produced isproportional to the square of the electrical current times theelectrical resistance of the susceptor material. For implementationswherein the susceptor material comprises ferromagnetic materials, heatmay also be generated by magnetic hysteresis losses. Several factors maycontribute to the temperature rise of the susceptor material including,but not limited to, proximity to the resonant transmitter, distributionof the magnetic field, electrical resistivity of the material of thesusceptor component, saturation flux density, skin effects or depth,hysteresis losses, magnetic susceptibility, magnetic permeability, anddipole moment of the material.

Referring to FIG. 8A, when the outer sleeve 203 of the depictedimplementation is engaged with the main body 202, the induction coil 230is configured to be positioned proximate at least a portion of the heatsource 308 of the substrate cartridge 300. In the depictedimplementation, the induction coil 230 defines a generally tubularconfiguration defined by the coil turns such that when the outer sleeve203 is engaged with the main body 202 having received the substratecartridge 300, the induction coil 230 extends around at least a portionof the heat source 308. In the depicted implementation, the inductiveheating assembly 220 is activated automatically when the outer sleeve203 is engaged with the main body 202. This may be accomplished, forexample, via a sensor configured to send a signal to the controlcomponent 222 upon sensing that the outer sleeve 203 is engaged with themain body 202. In other implementations, however, other methods ofactivating the lighter portion may be used. For example, in someimplementations activation of the inductive heating assembly may occurmanually via actuation of an input element, such as, for example, one ormore buttons.

In some implementations, other input elements may be included (which mayreplace or supplement a sensor, and/or a manually actuated buttonconfigured to activate the lighter portion). Any component orcombination of components may be utilized as an input for controllingthe function of the device. For example, one or more pushbuttons may beused as described in U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0245658 to Worm et al., which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Likewise, atouchscreen may be used as described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2016/0262454, to Sears et al., which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety. As a further example, components adapted for gesturerecognition based on specified movements of the aerosol delivery devicemay be used as an input. See U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2016/0158782 toHenry et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.As still a further example, a capacitive sensor may be implemented onthe aerosol delivery device to enable a user to provide input, such asby touching a surface of the device on which the capacitive sensor isimplemented.

Still further components can be utilized in the aerosol delivery deviceof the present disclosure. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,154,192 toSprinkel et al. discloses indicators for smoking articles; U.S. Pat. No.5,261,424 to Sprinkel, Jr. discloses piezoelectric sensors that can beassociated with the mouth-end of a device to detect user lip activityassociated with taking a draw and then trigger heating of a heatingdevice; U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,148 to McCafferty et al. discloses a puffsensor for controlling energy flow into a heating load array in responseto pressure drop through a mouthpiece; U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,148 to Harriset al. discloses receptacles in a smoking device that include anidentifier that detects a non-uniformity in infrared transmissivity ofan inserted component and a controller that executes a detection routineas the component is inserted into the receptacle; U.S. Pat. No.6,040,560 to Fleischhauer et al. describes a defined executable powercycle with multiple differential phases; U.S. Pat. No. 5,934,289 toWatkins et al. discloses photonic-optronic components; U.S. Pat. No.5,954,979 to Counts et al. discloses means for altering draw resistancethrough a smoking device; U.S. Pat. No. 6,803,545 to Blake et al.discloses specific battery configurations for use in smoking devices;U.S. Pat. No. 7,293,565 to Griffen et al. discloses various chargingsystems for use with smoking devices; U.S. Pat. No. 8,402,976 toFernando et al. discloses computer interfacing means for smoking devicesto facilitate charging and allow computer control of the device; U.S.Pat. No. 8,689,804 to Fernando et al. discloses identification systemsfor smoking devices; and PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2010/003480 by Flickdiscloses a fluid flow sensing system indicative of a puff in an aerosolgenerating system; all of the foregoing disclosures being incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

Other suitable current actuation/deactuation mechanisms may include atemperature actuated on/off switch or a lip pressure actuated switch, ora touch sensor (e.g., capacitive touch sensor) configured to sensecontact between a user (e.g., mouth or fingers of user) and one or moresurfaces of the aerosol delivery device. An example mechanism that canprovide such puff-actuation capability includes a Model 163PC01D36silicon sensor, manufactured by the MicroSwitch division of Honeywell,Inc., Freeport, Ill. With such sensor, the heating member may beactivated rapidly by a change in pressure when the user draws on thedevice. In addition, flow sensing devices, such as those using hot-wireanemometry principles, may be used to cause the energizing of theheating assembly sufficiently rapidly after sensing a change in airflow.A further puff actuated switch that may be used is a pressuredifferential switch, such as Model No. MPL-502-V, range A, from MicroPneumatic Logic, Inc., Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. Another suitable puffactuated mechanism is a sensitive pressure transducer (e.g., equippedwith an amplifier or gain stage) which is in turn coupled with acomparator for detecting a predetermined threshold pressure. Yet anothersuitable puff actuated mechanism is a vane which is deflected byairflow, the motion of which vane is detected by a movement sensingmeans. Yet another suitable actuation mechanism is a piezoelectricswitch. Also useful is a suitably connected Honeywell MicroSwitchMicrobridge Airflow Sensor, Part No. AWM 2100V from MicroSwitch Divisionof Honeywell, Inc., Freeport, Ill. Further examples of demand-operatedelectrical switches that may be employed in a heating circuit accordingto the present disclosure are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,217 toGerth et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.Other suitable differential switches, analog pressure sensors, flow ratesensors, or the like, will be apparent to the skilled artisan with theknowledge of the present disclosure. In some implementations, apressure-sensing tube or other passage providing fluid connectionbetween the puff actuated switch and substrate tablet may be included inthe housing so that pressure changes during draw are readily identifiedby the switch. Other example puff actuation devices that may be usefulaccording to the present disclosure are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos.4,922,901, 4,947,874, and 4,947,874, all to Brooks et al., U.S. Pat. No.5,372,148 to McCafferty et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,040,560 to Fleischhaueret al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,040,314 to Nguyen et al., and U.S. Pat. No.8,205,622 to Pan, all of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

Further examples of components related to electronic aerosol deliveryarticles and disclosing materials or components that may be used in thepresent article include U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,217 to Gerth et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 5,249,586 to Morgan et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,977 to Higginset al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,176 to Adams et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,164,287to White; U.S. Pat. No. 6,196,218 to Voges; U.S. Pat. No. 6,810,883 toFelter et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,461 to Nichols; U.S. Pat. No.7,832,410 to Hon; U.S. Pat. No. 7,513,253 to Kobayashi; U.S. Pat. No.7,896,006 to Hamano; U.S. Pat. No. 6,772,756 to Shayan; U.S. Pat. Nos.8,156,944 and 8,375,957 to Hon; U.S. Pat. No. 8,794,231 to Thorens etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,851,083 to Oglesby et al.; U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,915,254and 8,925,555 to Monsees et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 9,220,302 to DePiano etal.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. Nos. 2006/0196518 and 2009/0188490 to Hon; U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2010/0024834 to Oglesby et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub.No. 2010/0307518 to Wang; PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2010/091593 to Hon;and PCT Pat. App. Pub. No. WO 2013/089551 to Foo, each of which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Further, U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2017/0099877, discloses capsules that may be included inaerosol delivery devices and fob-shape configurations for aerosoldelivery devices, and is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. A variety of the materials disclosed by the foregoingdocuments may be incorporated into the present devices in variousimplementations, and all of the foregoing disclosures are incorporatedherein by reference in their entireties.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of a removable cartridge 300,according to an example implementation of the present disclosure. In thedepicted implementation, the cartridge 300 defines a first end 302 and adistal end 304. The cartridge 300 of the depicted implementation furtherincludes a heat portion 306, which comprises a heat source 308, asubstrate portion 310, which comprises a substrate material 316 (seeFIG. 10), and an outer housing 312 configured to circumscribe the heatsource 308 and the substrate material 316. It should be noted thatalthough in the depicted implementation the cartridge 300 has asubstantially cylindrical overall shape, in various otherimplementations, the cartridge or any of its components, may have adifferent shape. For example, in some implementations the cartridge(and/or any of its components) may have a substantially rectangularshape, such as a substantially rectangular cuboid shape. In otherimplementations, the cartridge (and/or any of its components) may haveother hand-held shapes. Some examples of cartridge configurations thatmay be applicable to the present disclosure can be found in U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 16/515,637, filed on Jul. 18, 2019, and titledAerosol Delivery Device with Consumable Cartridge, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

In some implementations, a barrier may exist between the heat source andthe substrate material. In some implementations, such a barrier maycomprise a disc that may include one or more apertures therethrough. Insome implementations, the barrier may be constructed of a metal material(such as, for example, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, silver,gold, bronze, titanium, various alloys, etc.), or a graphite material,or a ceramic material, or a plastic material, or any combinationsthereof. In some implementations, a heat transfer component, which mayor may not comprise a barrier, may exist between the heat source and thesubstrate material. Some examples of heat transfer components aredescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0281891 to Hejazi et al.,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In someimplementations, a barrier and/or a heat transfer component may preventor inhibit combustion gasses from being drawn through the substratematerial (and/or from being drawn through air passageways through whichaerosol is drawn).

In various implementations, the heat source may be configured togenerate heat upon ignition thereof. In the depicted implementation, theheat source 308 comprises a combustible fuel element that has agenerally cylindrical shape and that incorporates a combustiblecarbonaceous material. In other implementations, the heat source mayhave a different shape, for example, a prism shape having a cubic orhexagonal cross-section. Carbonaceous materials generally have a highcarbon content. Some carbonaceous materials may be composedpredominately of carbon, and/or typically have carbon contents ofgreater than about 60 percent, generally greater than about 70 percent,often greater than about 80 percent, and frequently greater than about90 percent, on a dry weight basis.

As noted above, the heat source 308 of the cartridge 300 of the depictedimplementation comprises a susceptor material configured to be heated bythe resonant transmitter. In some implementations, the heat sourcematerial itself (e.g., a carbon material) may comprise a susceptormaterial. In other implementations, a susceptor material may be added tothe heat source. In some implementations, the susceptor material maycomprise a ferromagnetic material including, but not limited to, cobalt,iron, nickel, zinc, manganese, and any combinations thereof. In someimplementations, one or more of the susceptor components may be made ofother materials, including, for example, other metal materials such asaluminum or stainless steel, as well as ceramic materials such assilicon carbide, and any combinations of any of the materials describedabove. In still other implementations, the susceptor material maycomprise other conductive materials including metals such as copper,alloys of conductive materials, or other materials with one or moreconductive materials imbedded therein. In some implementations, thesusceptor material may comprise a granulated susceptor component,including, but not limited to a shredded susceptor material. In otherimplementations, a granulated susceptor component may comprise susceptorparticles, susceptor beads, etc.

In some instances, the heat source may incorporate elements other thancombustible carbonaceous materials (e.g., tobacco components, such aspowdered tobaccos or tobacco extracts; flavoring agents; salts, such assodium chloride, potassium chloride and sodium carbonate; heat stablegraphite a hollow cylindrical (e.g., tube) fibers; iron oxide powder;glass filaments; powdered calcium carbonate; alumina granules; ammoniasources, such as ammonia salts; and/or binding agents, such as guar gum,ammonium alginate and sodium alginate). In other implementations, theheat source may comprise a plurality of ignitable objects, such as, forexample, a plurality of ignitable beads. It should be noted that inother implementations, the heat source may differ in composition orrelative content amounts from those listed above. For example, in someimplementations different forms of carbon could be used as a heatsource, such as graphite or graphene. In other implementations, the heatsource may have increased levels of activated carbon, differentporosities of carbon, different amounts of carbon, blends of any abovementioned components, etc. In still other implementations, the heatsource may comprise a non-carbon heat source, such as, for example, acombustible liquefied gas configured to generate heat upon ignitionthereof. For example, in some implementations, the liquefied gas maycomprise one or more of petroleum gas (LPG or LP-gas), propane,propylene, butylenes, butane, isobutene, methyl propane, or n-butane. Instill other implementations, the heat source may comprise a chemicalreaction based heat source, wherein ignition of the heat sourcecomprises the interaction of two or more individual components. Forexample, a chemical reaction based heat source may comprise metallicagents and an activating solution, wherein the heat source is activatedwhen the metallic agents and the activating solution come in contact.Some examples of chemical based heat sources can be found in U.S. Pat.No. 7,290,549 to Banerjee et al., which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Combinations of heat sources are alsopossible. Although specific dimensions of an applicable heat source mayvary, in the depicted implementation, the heat source 508 has a lengthin an inclusive range of approximately 5 mm to approximately 20 mm, andin some implementations may be approximately 12 mm, and an overalldiameter in an inclusive range of approximately 3 mm to approximately 8mm, and in some implementations may be approximately 4.8 mm (and in someimplementations, approximately 7 mm).

Although in other implementations the heat source may be constructed ina variety of ways, in the depicted implementation, the heat source 308is extruded or compounded using a ground or powdered carbonaceousmaterial, and has a density that is greater than about 0.5 g/cm³, oftengreater than about 0.7 g/cm³, and frequently greater than about 1 g/cm³,on a dry weight basis. See, for example, the types of fuel sourcecomponents, formulations and designs set forth in U.S. Pat. No.5,551,451 to Riggs et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,897 to Borschke etal., which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In various implementations the heat source may have a variety of forms,including, for example, a substantially solid cylindrical shape or ahollow cylindrical (e.g., tube) shape. In other implementations, theheat source may comprise a plurality of hollow or substantially solidspheres, which in some implementations may comprise substantially thesame size, and in other implementations may comprise more than one size.In various implementations, the heat source may be made in variety ofways, including, but not limited to, via extrusion, injection molding,compression molding, etc. The heat source 308 of the depictedimplementation comprises an extruded monolithic carbonaceous materialthat has a generally cylindrical shape that includes a plurality ofinternal passages 314 (see FIG. 10) extending longitudinally from afirst end of the heat source 308 to an opposing second end of the heatsource 308. In the depicted implementation, the outer housing 312 isconfigured to circumscribe the entire heat source 308 and substratematerial 316. In other implementations, however, the outer housing maycircumscribe only a portion of the heat source (see. e.g., FIGS. 11 and12). In the depicted implementation, the outer housing 312 of thecartridge 300 includes a plurality of end openings 315 and peripheralopenings 317 located on the end of the outer housing 312 proximate theheat source 308. Although in other implementations the size and shape ofthe end and peripheral openings may differ, the end openings 315 of thedepicted implementation comprise a plurality of elongate rounded slotsradially extending from a central area of the end of the outer housing312, and the peripheral openings 317 comprise a plurality of alignedrows of substantially circular openings. In the depicted implementation,one or more of the end openings 315 are in fluid communication with oneor more of the internal passages 314 of the heat source 308. It shouldbe noted that in other implementations, there need not be a plurality ofinternal passages and/or the plurality of internal passages may takeother forms and/or sizes. For example, in some implementations, theremay be as few as two internal passages, and still other implementationsmay include as few as a single internal passage. Still otherimplementations may include no internal passages at all. Additionalimplementations may include multiple internal passages that may be ofunequal diameter and/or shape and which may be unequally spaced and/orlocated within the heat source.

Some implementations may alternatively, or additionally, include one ormore peripheral grooves that extend longitudinally from a first end ofthe heat source to an opposing second end, although in otherimplementations the grooves need not extend the full length of the heatsource. In some implementations, such grooves may be substantially equalin width and depth and may be substantially equally distributed about acircumference of the heat source. In such implementations, there may beas few as two grooves, and still other implementations may include asfew as a single groove. Still other implementations may include nogrooves at all. Additional implementations may include multiple groovesthat may be of unequal width and/or depth, and which may be unequallyspaced around a circumference of the heat source. In still otherimplementations, the heat source may include flutes and/or slitsextending longitudinally from a first end of the extruded monolithiccarbonaceous material to an opposing second end thereof. In someimplementations, the heat source may comprise a foamed carbon monolithformed in a foam process of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,615,184 to Lobovsky, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. As such, some implementations may provide advantages withregard to reduced time taken to ignite the heat source. In some otherimplementations, the heat source may be co-extruded with a layer ofinsulation (not shown), thereby reducing manufacturing time and expense.Other implementations of fuel elements include carbon fibers of the typedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,901 to Brooks et al. or other heatsource implementations such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2009/0044818 to Takeuchi et al., each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Further examples of heat sources includingdebossed heat source systems, methods, and smoking articles that includesuch heat sources are disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0254335to Spicer et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Generally, the heat source is positioned sufficiently near an aerosoldelivery component (e.g., the substrate portion) having one or moreaerosolizable components so that the aerosol formed/volatilized by theapplication of heat from the heat source to the aerosolizable components(as well as any flavorants, medicaments, and/or the like that arelikewise provided for delivery to a user) is deliverable to the user byway of the mouthpiece. That is, when the heat source heats the substratecomponent, an aerosol is formed, released, or generated in a physicalform suitable for inhalation by a consumer. It should be noted that theforegoing terms are meant to be interchangeable such that reference torelease, releasing, releases, or released includes form or generate,forming or generating, forms or generates, and formed or generated.Specifically, an inhalable substance is released in the form of a vaporor aerosol or mixture thereof.

Additionally, the selection of various smoking article elements areappreciated upon consideration of commercially available electronicsmoking articles, such as those representative products listed in thebackground art section of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates a longitudinal cross-section view of the cartridge300 of FIG. 9. As shown in the figure, the substrate material 316 of thedepicted implementation has opposed first and second ends, with the heatsource 308 disposed adjacent the first end of the substrate material316. Although dimensions and cross-section shapes of the variouscomponents of the cartridge may vary due to the needs of a particularapplication, in the depicted implementation the cartridge 300 may havean overall length in an inclusive range of approximately 10 mm toapproximately 50 mm and a diameter in an inclusive range ofapproximately 2 mm to approximately 20 mm. In addition, in the depictedimplementation the outer housing 312 may have a thickness in theinclusive range of approximately 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm. Furthermore, in thedepicted implementation the substrate portion 310 may have a length inthe inclusive range of approximately 5 mm to 30 mm and a diameterslightly less than that of the overall cartridge in order to accommodatethe thickness of the housing 312, such as, for example, a diameter in aninclusive range of approximately 2.9 mm to approximately 9.9 mm. In thedepicted implementation, the substrate material 316 comprises tobaccobeads, which may have diameter sizes in range of approximately 0.5 mm to2.0 mm, although in other implementations the size may differ. In otherimplementations, the substrate material may be a granulated tobaccomaterial or cut filler tobacco. Although other implementations maydiffer, in the depicted implementation the outer housing 312 of thecartridge 300 is filled to about 60-90% capacity to allow for insertionof the heat source 308.

In the depicted implementation, the substrate portion 310 comprises asubstrate material 316 having a single segment, although in otherimplementations the substrate portion may include one or more additionalsubstrate material segments. For example, in some implementations, theaerosol delivery device may further comprise a second substrate materialsegment (not shown) having opposed first and second ends. In variousimplementations, one or more of the substrate materials may include atobacco or tobacco related material, with an aerosol precursorcomposition associated therewith. In other implementations, non-tobaccomaterials may be used, such as a cellulose pulp material. In otherimplementations, the non-tobacco substrate material may not be aplant-derived material. Other possible compositions, components, and/oradditives for use in a substrate material (and/or substrate materials)are described in more detail below. It should be noted that thesubsequent discussion should be applicable any substrate material usablein the smoking articles described herein (such as, for example, thesubstrate material 316 of the depicted implementation).

In various implementations, ignition of the heat source of a cartridgeheats the heat source, which in turn heats the substrate materialultimately resulting in aerosolization of the aerosol precursorcomposition associated with the substrate material. As noted, in variousimplementations the holder may include an aerosol passageway thatextends therethrough. In the depicted implementation, the aerosolpassageway 228 (see FIGS. 8A and 8B) extends from the cartridgereceiving chamber 212 through the main body 202 and mouthpiece portion204 of the holder 200. As such, upon a draw applied to the mouthpieceportion 204 of the holder 200, aerosol generated by the cartridge 300 isconfigured to be delivered to a user. In some implementations, theaerosol passageway extends from the cartridge receiving chamber to themouthpiece portion of the holder in a substantially direct path. Forexample, in some implementations, the aerosol passageway may extend fromthe cartridge receiving chamber through the holder along a path that isaligned with, or substantially parallel to, a longitudinal axis thereof.In other implementations, however, the aerosol passageway may have aless direct route. For example, the aerosol passageway of someimplementations may define an indirect route from the cartridgereceiving chamber through the holder, such as, for example, via one ormore tortuous paths. In some implementations, for example, such a pathmay allow the aerosol to cool before reaching a user. In someimplementations, such a path may allow mixing of the aerosol with airfrom outside of the holder. In some implementations, such a path maycomprise a serpentine pattern. In other implementations, such a path mayinclude one or more sections that overlap and/or double back toward eachother. In other implementations, such a path may comprise one or morespiral turns that extend around an inner diameter of the holder. Otherimplementations may include combinations of tortuous aerosol paths.Still other implementations may include combinations of direct andtortuous path sections.

In some implementations, the mouthpiece portion, or other portion of theholder may include a filter configured to receive the aerosoltherethrough in response to the draw applied to the holder. In variousimplementations, the filter may be provided, in some aspects, as acircular disc radially and/or longitudinally disposed proximate the endof the holder opposite the receiving end. In this manner, upon a draw onthe holder, the filter may receive the aerosol flowing through holder.In some implementations, the filter may comprise discrete segments. Forexample, some implementations may include a segment providing filtering,a segment providing draw resistance, a hollow segment providing a spacefor the aerosol to cool, other filter segments, and any one or anycombination of the above. In some implementations, the mouthpieceportion may include a filter that may also provide a flavorant additive.In some implementations, a filter may include one or more filtersegments that may be replaceable. For example, in some implementationsone or more filter segments may be replaceable in order to customize auser's experience with the device, including, for example, filtersegments that provide different draw resistances and/or differentflavors. Some examples of flavor adding materials and/or componentsconfigured to add a flavorant can be found in U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/408,942, filed on May 10, 2019 and titled Flavor Article foran Aerosol Delivery Device; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0289909 toHejazi; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2020/0288787 to Hejazi, each ofwhich is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.

Preferably, the elements of the substrate material do not experiencethermal decomposition (e.g., charring, scorching, or burning) to anysignificant degree, and the aerosolized components are entrained in theair drawn through the smoking article, including a filter (if present),and into the mouth of the user. In the cartridge 300 of the depictedimplementation, the substrate material 316 comprises a plurality oftobacco beads together formed into a substantially cylindrical portion.In various implementations, however, the substrate material may comprisea variety of different compositions and combinations thereof, asexplained in more detail below.

In various implementations, the substrate material may comprise atobacco material, a non-tobacco material, or a combination thereof. Inone implementation, for example, the substrate material may comprise ablend of flavorful and aromatic tobaccos in cut filler form. In anotherimplementation, the substrate material may comprise a reconstitutedtobacco material, such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,809 to Pryoret al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,143 to Pryor et al. and U.S. Pat. No.5,025,814 to Raker, the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entirety. Additionally, a reconstituted tobaccomaterial may include a reconstituted tobacco paper for the type ofcigarettes described in Chemical and Biological Studies on New CigarettePrototypes that Heat Instead of Burn Tobacco, R. J. Reynolds TobaccoCompany Monograph (1988), the contents of which are incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. For example, a reconstituted tobaccomaterial may include a sheet-like material containing tobacco and/ortobacco-related materials. As such, in some implementations, thesubstrate material may be formed from a wound roll of a reconstitutedtobacco material. In another implementation, the substrate material maybe formed from shreds, strips, and/or the like of a reconstitutedtobacco material. In another implementation, the tobacco sheet maycomprise overlapping layers (e.g., a gathered web), which may, or maynot, include heat conducting constituents. Examples of substrateportions that include a series of overlapping layers (e.g., gatheredwebs) of an initial substrate sheet formed by the fibrous fillermaterial, aerosol forming material, and plurality of heat conductingconstituents are described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0261685 toSebastian et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

In some implementations, the substrate material may include a pluralityof microcapsules, beads, granules, and/or the like having atobacco-related material. For example, a representative microcapsule maybe generally spherical in shape, and may have an outer cover or shellthat contains a liquid center region of a tobacco-derived extract and/orthe like. In some implementations, one or more of the substratematerials may include a plurality of microcapsules each formed into ahollow cylindrical shape. In some implementations, one or more of thesubstrate materials may include a binder material configured to maintainthe structural shape and/or integrity of the plurality of microcapsulesformed into the hollow cylindrical shape.

Tobacco employed in one or more of the substrate materials may include,or may be derived from, tobaccos such as flue-cured tobacco, burleytobacco, Oriental tobacco, Maryland tobacco, dark tobacco, dark-firedtobacco and Rustica tobacco, as well as other rare or specialtytobaccos, or blends thereof. Various representative tobacco types,processed types of tobaccos, and types of tobacco blends are set forthin U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,224 to Lawson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,888 toPerfetti et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,537 to Brown et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,159,942 to Brinkley et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,930 to Gentry; U.S.Pat. No. 5,360,023 to Blakley et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,701,936 to Shaferet al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,832 to Dominguez et al.; U.S. Pat. No.7,011,096 to Li et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,017,585 to Li et al.; U.S. Pat.No. 7,025,066 to Lawson et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2004/0255965 toPerfetti et al.; PCT Pub. No. WO 02/37990 to Bereman; and Bombick etal., Fund. Appl. Toxicol., 39, p. 11-17 (1997); the disclosures of whichare incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In still other implementations of the present disclosure, the substratematerial may include an extruded structure that includes, or isessentially comprised of a tobacco, a tobacco related material,glycerin, water, and/or a binder material, although certain formulationsmay exclude the binder material. In various implementations, suitablebinder materials may include alginates, such as ammonium alginate,propylene glycol alginate, potassium alginate, and sodium alginate.Alginates, and particularly high viscosity alginates, may be employed inconjunction with controlled levels of free calcium ions. Other suitablebinder materials include hydroxypropylcellulose such as Klucel H fromAqualon Co.; hydroxypropylmethylcellulose such as Methocel K4MS from TheDow Chemical Co.; hydroxyethylcellulose such as Natrosol 250 MRCS fromAqualon Co.; microcrystalline cellulose such as Avicel from FMC;methylcellulose such as Methocel A4M from The Dow Chemical Co.; andsodium carboxymethyl cellulose such as CMC 7HF and CMC 7H4F fromHercules Inc. Still other possible binder materials include starches(e.g., corn starch), guar gum, carrageenan, locust bean gum, pectins andxanthan gum. In some implementations, combinations or blends of two ormore binder materials may be employed. Other examples of bindermaterials are described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,839 toJakob et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,887 to Raker et al., each of whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In someimplementations, the aerosol forming material may be provided as aportion of the binder material (e.g., propylene glycol alginate). Inaddition, in some implementations, the binder material may comprisenanocellulose derived from a tobacco or other biomass.

In some implementations, the substrate material may include an extrudedmaterial, as described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2012/0042885 to Stoneet al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Inyet another implementation, the substrate material may include anextruded structure and/or substrate formed from marumarized and/ornon-marumarized tobacco. Marumarized tobacco is known, for example, fromU.S. Pat. No. 5,105,831 to Banerjee, et al., which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety. Marumarized tobacco includes about 20to about 50 percent (by weight) tobacco blend in powder form, withglycerol (at about 20 to about 30 percent weight), calcium carbonate(generally at about 10 to about 60 percent by weight, often at about 40to about 60 percent by weight), along with binder agents, as describedherein, and/or flavoring agents. In various implementations, theextruded material may have one or more longitudinal openings.

In various implementations, the substrate material may take on a varietyof conformations based upon the various amounts of materials utilizedtherein. For example, a sample substrate material may comprise up toapproximately 98% by weight, up to approximately 95% by weight, or up toapproximately 90% by weight of a tobacco and/or tobacco relatedmaterial. A sample substrate material may also comprise up toapproximately 25% by weight, approximately 20% by weight, orapproximately 15% by weight water—particularly approximately 2% toapproximately 25%, approximately 5% to approximately 20%, orapproximately 7% to approximately 15% by weight water. Flavors and thelike (which include, for example, medicaments, such as nicotine) maycomprise up to approximately 10%, up to about 8%, or up to about 5% byweight of the aerosol delivery component.

Additionally, or alternatively, the substrate material may include anextruded structure and/or a substrate that includes or essentially iscomprised of tobacco, glycerin, water, and/or binder material, and isfurther configured to substantially maintain its structure throughoutthe aerosol-generating process. That is, the substrate material may beconfigured to substantially maintain its shape (e.g., the substratematerial does not continually deform under an applied shear stress)throughout the aerosol-generating process. Although such an examplesubstrate material may include liquids and/or some moisture content, thesubstrate may remain substantially solid throughout theaerosol-generating process and may substantially maintain structuralintegrity throughout the aerosol-generating process. Example tobaccoand/or tobacco related materials suitable for a substantially solidsubstrate material are described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0157052to Ademe et al.; U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0335070 to Sears et al.;U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,287 to White; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,676 to Hearnet al., which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

In some implementations, the amount of substrate material used withinthe smoking article may be such that the article exhibits acceptablesensory and organoleptic properties, and desirable performancecharacteristics. For example, in some implementations an aerosolprecursor composition such as, for example, glycerin and/or propyleneglycol, may be employed within the substrate material in order toprovide for the generation of a visible mainstream aerosol that in manyregards resembles the appearance of tobacco smoke. For example, theamount of aerosol precursor composition incorporated into the substratematerial of the smoking article may be in the range of about 3.5 gramsor less, about 3 grams or less, about 2.5 grams or less, about 2 gramsor less, about 1.5 grams or less, about 1 gram or less, or about 0.5gram or less.

According to another implementation, a smoking article according to thepresent disclosure may include a substrate material comprising a porous,inert material such as, for example, a ceramic material. For example, insome implementations ceramics of various shapes and geometries (e.g.,beads, rods, tubes, etc.) may be used, which have various poremorphology. In addition, in some implementations non-tobacco materials,such as an aerosol precursor composition, may be loaded into theceramics. In another implementation, the substrate material may includea porous, inert material that does not substantially react, chemicallyand/or physically, with a tobacco-related material such as, for example,a tobacco-derived extract. In addition, an extruded tobacco, such asthose described above, may be porous. For example, in someimplementations an extruded tobacco material may have an inert gas, suchas, for example, nitrogen, that acts as a blowing agent during theextrusion process.

As noted above, in various implementations one or more of the substratematerials may include a tobacco, a tobacco component, and/or atobacco-derived material that has been treated, manufactured, produced,and/or processed to incorporate an aerosol precursor composition (e.g.,humectants such as, for example, propylene glycol, glycerin, and/or thelike) and/or at least one flavoring agent, as well as a flame/burnretardant (e.g., diammonium phosphate and/or another salt) configured tohelp prevent ignition, pyrolysis, combustion, and/or scorching of thesubstrate material by the heat source. Various manners and methods forincorporating tobacco into smoking articles, and particularly smokingarticles that are designed so as to not purposefully burn virtually allof the tobacco within those smoking articles are set forth in U.S. Pat.No. 4,947,874 to Brooks et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,647,932 to Cantrell etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 8,079,371 to Robinson et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 7,290,549to Banerjee et al.; and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2007/0215167 to Crookset al.; the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

As noted, in some implementations, flame/burn retardant materials andother additives that may be included within one or more of the substratematerials and may include organo-phosphorus compounds, borax, hydratedalumina, graphite, potassium tripolyphosphate, dipentaerythritol,pentaerythritol, and polyols. Others such as nitrogenous phosphonic acidsalts, mono-ammonium phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, ammoniumbromide, ammonium borate, ethanolammonium borate, ammonium sulphamate,halogenated organic compounds, thiourea, and antimony oxides aresuitable but are not preferred agents. In each aspect offlame-retardant, burn-retardant, and/or scorch-retardant materials usedin the substrate material and/or other components (whether alone or incombination with each other and/or other materials), the desirableproperties most preferably are provided without undesirable off-gassingor melting-type behavior.

According to other implementations of the present disclosure, thesubstrate material may also incorporate tobacco additives of the typethat are traditionally used for the manufacture of tobacco products.Those additives may include the types of materials used to enhance theflavor and aroma of tobaccos used for the production of cigars,cigarettes, pipes, and the like. For example, those additives mayinclude various cigarette casing and/or top dressing components. See,for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,419,015 to Wochnowski; U.S. Pat. No.4,054,145 to Berndt et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,619 to Burcham, Jr. etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,416 to Watson; U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,842 toStrang et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,711,320 to Martin; the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Somecasing materials may include water, sugars and syrups (e.g., sucrose,glucose and high fructose corn syrup), humectants (e.g. glycerin orpropylene glycol), and flavoring agents (e.g., cocoa and licorice).Those added components may also include top dressing materials (e.g.,flavoring materials, such as menthol). See, for example, U.S. Pat. No.4,449,541 to Mays et al., the disclosure of which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. Further materials that may be addedinclude those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,830,028 to Lawson et al. andU.S. Pat. No. 8,186,360 to Marshall et al., the disclosures of which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In some implementations, the substrate material may comprise a liquidincluding an aerosol precursor composition and/or a gel including anaerosol precursor composition. Some examples of liquid compositions canbe found in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2020/0113239 to Aller et al., whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

As noted above, in various implementations, one or more of the substratematerials may have an aerosol precursor composition associatedtherewith. For example, in some implementations the aerosol precursorcomposition may comprise one or more different components, such aspolyhydric alcohol (e.g., glycerin, propylene glycol, or a mixturethereof). Representative types of further aerosol precursor compositionsare set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,793,365 to Sensabaugh, Jr. et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 5,101,839 to Jakob et al.; PCT WO 98/57556 to Biggs et al.; andChemical and Biological Studies on New Cigarette Prototypes that HeatInstead of Burn Tobacco, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Monograph(1988); the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.In some aspects, a substrate material may produce a visible aerosol uponthe application of sufficient heat thereto (and cooling with air, ifnecessary), and the substrate material may produce an aerosol that is“smoke-like.” In other aspects, the substrate material may produce anaerosol that is substantially non-visible but is recognized as presentby other characteristics, such as flavor or texture. Thus, the nature ofthe produced aerosol may be variable depending upon the specificcomponents of the aerosol delivery component. The substrate material maybe chemically simple relative to the chemical nature of the smokeproduced by burning tobacco.

In some implementations, the aerosol precursor composition mayincorporate nicotine, which may be present in various concentrations.The source of nicotine may vary, and the nicotine incorporated in theaerosol precursor composition may derive from a single source or acombination of two or more sources. For example, in some implementationsthe aerosol precursor composition may include nicotine derived fromtobacco. In other implementations, the aerosol precursor composition mayinclude nicotine derived from other organic plant sources, such as, forexample, non-tobacco plant sources including plants in the Solanaceaefamily. In other implementations, the aerosol precursor composition mayinclude synthetic nicotine. In some implementations, nicotineincorporated in the aerosol precursor composition may be derived fromnon-tobacco plant sources, such as other members of the Solanaceaefamily. The aerosol precursor composition may additionally, oralternatively, include other active ingredients including, but notlimited to, botanical ingredients (e.g., lavender, peppermint,chamomile, basil, rosemary, thyme, eucalyptus, ginger, cannabis,ginseng, maca, and tisanes), stimulants (e.g., caffeine and guarana),amino acids (e.g., taurine, theanine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, andtryptophan) and/or pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, and medicinalingredients (e.g., vitamins, such as B6, B12, and C and cannabinoids,such as tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD)). It should benoted that the aerosol precursor composition may comprise anyconstituents, derivatives, or combinations of any of the above.

As noted herein, the aerosol precursor composition may comprise or bederived from one or more botanicals or constituents, derivatives, orextracts thereof. As used herein, the term “botanical” includes anymaterial derived from plants including, but not limited to, extracts,leaves, bark, fibres, stems, roots, seeds, flowers, fruits, pollen,husk, shells or the like. Alternatively, the material may comprise anactive compound naturally existing in a botanical, obtainedsynthetically. The material may be in the form of liquid, gas, solid,powder, dust, crushed particles, granules, pellets, shreds, strips,sheets, or the like. Example botanicals are tobacco, eucalyptus, staranise, hemp, cocoa, cannabis, fennel, lemongrass, peppermint, spearmint,rooibos, chamomile, flax, ginger, ginkgo biloba, hazel, hibiscus,laurel, licorice (liquorice), matcha, mate, orange skin, papaya, rose,sage, tea such as green tea or black tea, thyme, clove, cinnamon,coffee, aniseed (anise), basil, bay leaves, cardamom, coriander, cumin,nutmeg, oregano, paprika, rosemary, saffron, lavender, lemon peel, mint,juniper, elderflower, vanilla, wintergreen, beefsteak plant, curcuma,turmeric, sandalwood, cilantro, bergamot, orange blossom, myrtle,cassis, valerian, pimento, mace, damien, marjoram, olive, lemon balm,lemon basil, chive, carvi, verbena, tarragon, geranium, mulberry,ginseng, theanine, theacrine, maca, ashwagandha, damiana, guarana,chlorophyll, baobab or any combination thereof. The mint may be chosenfrom the following mint varieties: Mentha Arventis, Mentha c.v., Menthaniliaca, Mentha piperita, Mentha piperita citrata c.v., Mentha piperitac.v, Mentha spicata crispa, Mentha cardifolia, Mentha longifolia, Menthasuaveolens variegata, Mentha pulegium, Mentha spicata c.v. and Menthasuaveolens.

A wide variety of types of flavoring agents, or materials that alter thesensory or organoleptic character or nature of the mainstream aerosol ofthe smoking article may be suitable to be employed. In someimplementations, such flavoring agents may be provided from sourcesother than tobacco and may be natural or artificial in nature. Forexample, some flavoring agents may be applied to, or incorporatedwithin, the substrate material and/or those regions of the smokingarticle where an aerosol is generated. In some implementations, suchagents may be supplied directly to a heating cavity or region proximateto the heat source or are provided with the substrate material. Exampleflavoring agents may include, for example, vanillin, ethyl vanillin,cream, tea, coffee, fruit (e.g., apple, cherry, strawberry, peach andcitrus flavors, including lime and lemon), maple, menthol, mint,peppermint, spearmint, wintergreen, nutmeg, clove, lavender, cardamom,ginger, honey, anise, sage, cinnamon, sandalwood, jasmine, cascarilla,cocoa, licorice, and flavorings and flavor packages of the type andcharacter traditionally used for the flavoring of cigarette, cigar, andpipe tobaccos. Syrups, such as high fructose corn syrup, may also besuitable to be employed.

As used herein, the terms “flavor,” “flavorant,” “flavoring agents,”etc. refer to materials which, where local regulations permit, may beused to create a desired taste, aroma, or other somatosensorialsensation in a product for adult consumers. They may include naturallyoccurring flavor materials, botanicals, extracts of botanicals,synthetically obtained materials, or combinations thereof (e.g.,tobacco, cannabis, licorice (liquorice), hydrangea, eugenol, Japanesewhite bark magnolia leaf, chamomile, fenugreek, clove, maple, matcha,menthol, Japanese mint, aniseed (anise), cinnamon, turmeric, Indianspices, Asian spices, herb, wintergreen, cherry, berry, red berry,cranberry, peach, apple, orange, mango, clementine, lemon, lime,tropical fruit, papaya, rhubarb, grape, durian, dragon fruit, cucumber,blueberry, mulberry, citrus fruits, Drambuie, bourbon, scotch, whiskey,gin, tequila, rum, spearmint, peppermint, lavender, aloe vera, cardamom,celery, cascarilla, nutmeg, sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, khat,naswar, betel, shisha, pine, honey essence, rose oil, vanilla, lemonoil, orange oil, orange blossom, cherry blossom, cassia, caraway,cognac, jasmine, ylang-ylang, sage, fennel, wasabi, piment, ginger,coriander, coffee, hemp, a mint oil from any species of the genusMentha, eucalyptus, star anise, cocoa, lemongrass, rooibos, flax, ginkgobiloba, hazel, hibiscus, laurel, mate, orange skin, rose, tea such asgreen tea or black tea, thyme, juniper, elderflower, basil, bay leaves,cumin, oregano, paprika, rosemary, saffron, lemon peel, mint, beefsteakplant, curcuma, cilantro, myrtle, cassis, valerian, pimento, mace,damien, marjoram, olive, lemon balm, lemon basil, chive, carvi, verbena,tarragon, limonene, thymol, camphene), flavor enhancers, bitternessreceptor site blockers, sensorial receptor site activators orstimulators, sugars and/or sugar substitutes (e.g., sucralose,acesulfame potassium, aspartame, saccharine, cyclamates, lactose,sucrose, glucose, fructose, sorbitol, or mannitol), and other additivessuch as charcoal, chlorophyll, minerals, botanicals, or breathfreshening agents. They may be imitation, synthetic or naturalingredients or blends thereof. They may be in any suitable form, forexample, liquid such as an oil, solid such as a powder, or gas.

In some implementations, the flavor comprises menthol, spearmint and/orpeppermint. In some embodiments, the flavor comprises flavor componentsof cucumber, blueberry, citrus fruits and/or redberry. In someembodiments, the flavor comprises eugenol. In some embodiments, theflavor comprises flavor components extracted from tobacco. In someembodiments, the flavor comprises flavor components extracted fromcannabis.

In some implementations, the flavor may comprise a sensate, which isintended to achieve a somatosensorial sensation which are usuallychemically induced and perceived by the stimulation of the fifth cranialnerve (trigeminal nerve), in addition to or in place of aroma or tastenerves, and these may include agents providing heating, cooling,tingling, numbing effect. A suitable heat effect agent may be, but isnot limited to, vanillyl ethyl ether and a suitable cooling agent maybe, but not limited to eucolyptol, WS-3.

Flavoring agents may also include acidic or basic characteristics (e.g.,organic acids, such as levulinic acid, succinic acid, pyruvic acid, andbenzoic acid). In some implementations, flavoring agents may becombinable with the elements of the substrate material if desired.Example plant-derived compositions that may be suitable are disclosed inU.S. Pat. No. 9,107,453 and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2012/0152265 both toDube et al., the disclosures of which are incorporated herein byreference in their entireties. Any of the materials, such as flavorings,casings, and the like that may be useful in combination with a tobaccomaterial to affect sensory properties thereof, including organolepticproperties, such as described herein, may be combined with the substratematerial. Organic acids particularly may be able to be incorporated intothe substrate material to affect the flavor, sensation, or organolepticproperties of medicaments, such as nicotine, that may be able to becombined with the substrate material. For example, organic acids, suchas levulinic acid, lactic acid, pyruvic acid, and benzoic acid may beincluded in the substrate material with nicotine in amounts up to beingequimolar (based on total organic acid content) with the nicotine. Anycombination of organic acids may be suitable. For example, in someimplementations, the substrate material may include approximately 0.1 toabout 0.5 moles of levulinic acid per one mole of nicotine,approximately 0.1 to about 0.5 moles of pyruvic acid per one mole ofnicotine, approximately 0.1 to about 0.5 moles of lactic acid per onemole of nicotine, or combinations thereof, up to a concentration whereinthe total amount of organic acid present is equimolar to the totalamount of nicotine present in the substrate material. Various additionalexamples of organic acids employed to produce a substrate material aredescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2015/0344456 to Dull et al., whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

The selection of such further components may be variable based uponfactors such as the sensory characteristics that are desired for thesmoking article, and the present disclosure is intended to encompass anysuch further components that are readily apparent to those skilled inthe art of tobacco and tobacco-related or tobacco-derived products. See,Gutcho, Tobacco Flavoring Substances and Methods, Noyes Data Corp.(1972) and Leffingwell et al., Tobacco Flavoring for Smoking Products(1972), the disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference intheir entireties.

In other implementations, the substrate material may include othermaterials having a variety of inherent characteristics or properties.For example, the substrate material may include a plasticized materialor regenerated cellulose in the form of rayon. As another example,viscose (commercially available as VISIL®), which is a regeneratedcellulose product incorporating silica, may be suitable. Some carbonfibers may include at least 95 percent carbon or more. Similarly,natural cellulose fibers such as cotton may be suitable, and may beinfused or otherwise treated with silica, carbon, or metallic particlesto enhance flame-retardant properties and minimize off-gassing,particularly of any undesirable off-gassing components that would have anegative impact on flavor (and especially minimizing the likelihood ofany toxic off-gassing products). Cotton may be treatable with, forexample, boric acid or various organophosphate compounds to providedesirable flame-retardant properties by dipping, spraying or othertechniques known in the art. These fibers may also be treatable (coated,infused, or both by, e.g., dipping, spraying, or vapor-deposition) withorganic or metallic nanoparticles to confer the desired property offlame-retardancy without undesirable off-gassing or melting-typebehavior.

In the depicted implementation, the substrate material 316 may comprisea centrally defined longitudinally extending axis between the opposedfirst and second ends, and a cross-section of the substrate material 316may be, in some implementations, symmetrical about the axis. Forexample, in some implementations a cross-section of the substratematerial may be substantially circular such that the substrate materialdefines a substantially cylindrical shape extending between the opposedfirst and second ends thereof. However, in other implementations, thesubstrate material may define a substantially non-circular cross-sectionsuch that the substrate material may define a substantiallynon-cylindrical shape between the opposed first and second ends thereof.Otherwise, in other examples, the substrate material may comprise anasymmetric cross-section about the axis. In various implementations,each end of the substrate material may be in axial alignment withadjacent elements.

In the depicted implementation, the outer housing comprises a rigidmaterial. For example, the outer housing 312 of the depictedimplementation is constructed of an aluminum material; however, in otherimplementations, the outer housing may be constructed of othermaterials, including other metal materials (such as, for example,stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, silver, gold, bronze,titanium, various alloys, etc.), or graphite materials, or ceramicmaterials, or plastic materials, or any combinations thereof. In someimplementations, at least a portion of the heat source and/or at least aportion of the substrate material may be circumscribed by a paper foillaminate. In some implementations, the cartridge may comprise anenclosure comprising a laminate that contains a heat source and a beadedsubstrate material. Some examples of laminates and/or enclosures thatmay be applicable to the present disclosure can be found in U.S. Pat.App. Pub. No. 2020/0128880 to Gage et al., which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety.

In the depicted implementation, the outer housing 312 is constructed asa tube structure that substantially encapsulates the heat source 308 andthe substrate material 316; however, as noted above, in otherimplementations the outer housing may have other shapes. Although theshape of the outer housing may vary, in the depicted implementation theouter housing 312 comprises a tube structure having opposed closed endswith openings defined therethrough. In particular, in addition to theheat source end openings 315, 317, the depicted implementation of theouter housing 312 also includes one or more end apertures 318 located onthe opposite closed end that are configured to allow aerosolized vapor(herein alternatively referred to as a “vapor” or “aerosol”) to passtherethrough. The end apertures 318 of the depicted implementation arein the form of a pair of elongate rounded slots; however, in otherimplementations the end apertures may have any form that permits passageof the aerosol therethrough. As such, it will be appreciated that theend apertures 318 can comprise fewer or additional apertures and/oralternative shapes and sizes of apertures than those illustrated.

In various implementations, a removable cartridge may have otherconfigurations for use with a holder of the present disclosure. Forexample, FIG. 11 illustrates a perspective view of a removable cartridge400, according to another example implementation of the presentdisclosure. In the depicted implementation, the cartridge 400 defines afirst end 402 and a distal end 404. The cartridge 400 of the depictedimplementation further includes a heat portion 406, which comprises aheat source 408, a substrate portion 410, which comprises a substratematerial 416 (see FIG. 12), and an outer housing 412 configured tocircumscribe at least a portion of the heat source 408 and the substratematerial 416. It should be noted that although in the depictedimplementation the cartridge 400 has a substantially cylindrical overallshape, in various other implementations, the cartridge or any of itscomponents may have a different shape. For example, in someimplementations the cartridge (and/or any of its components) may have asubstantially rectangular shape, such as a substantially rectangularcuboid shape. In other implementations, the cartridge (and/or any of itscomponents) may have other hand-held shapes. Some examples of cartridgeconfigurations that may be applicable to the present disclosure can befound in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/515,637, filed on Jul. 18,2019, and titled Aerosol Delivery Device with Consumable Cartridge,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

In some implementations, a barrier may exist between the heat source andthe substrate material. In some implementations, such a barrier maycomprise a disc that may include one or more apertures therethrough. Insome implementations, the barrier may be constructed of a metal material(such as, for example, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, silver,gold, bronze, titanium, various alloys, etc.), or a graphite material,or a ceramic material, or a plastic material, or any combinationsthereof. In some implementations, a heat transfer component, which mayor may not comprise a barrier, may exist between the heat source and thesubstrate material. Some examples of heat transfer components aredescribed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0281891 to Hejazi et al.,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In someimplementations, a barrier and/or a heat transfer component may preventor inhibit combustion gasses from being drawn through the substratematerial (and/or from being drawn through air passageways through whichaerosol is drawn).

In various implementations, the heat source may be configured togenerate heat upon ignition thereof. In the depicted implementation, theheat source 408 comprises a combustible fuel element that has agenerally cylindrical shape and that incorporates a combustiblecarbonaceous material. In other implementations, the heat source mayhave a different shape, for example, a prism shape having a cubic orhexagonal cross-section. Carbonaceous materials generally have a highcarbon content. Some carbonaceous materials may be composedpredominately of carbon, and/or typically have carbon contents ofgreater than about 60 percent, generally greater than about 70 percent,often greater than about 80 percent, and frequently greater than about90 percent, on a dry weight basis.

In some instances, the heat source may incorporate elements other thancombustible carbonaceous materials (e.g., tobacco components, such aspowdered tobaccos or tobacco extracts; flavoring agents; salts, such assodium chloride, potassium chloride and sodium carbonate; heat stablegraphite a hollow cylindrical (e.g., tube) fibers; iron oxide powder;glass filaments; powdered calcium carbonate; alumina granules; ammoniasources, such as ammonia salts; and/or binding agents, such as guar gum,ammonium alginate and sodium alginate). In other implementations, theheat source may comprise a plurality of ignitable objects, such as, forexample, a plurality of ignitable beads. It should be noted that inother implementations, the heat source may differ in composition orrelative content amounts from those listed above. For example, in someimplementations different forms of carbon could be used as a heatsource, such as graphite or graphene. In other implementations, the heatsource may have increased levels of activated carbon, differentporosities of carbon, different amounts of carbon, blends of any abovementioned components, etc. In still other implementations, the heatsource may comprise a non-carbon heat source, such as, for example, acombustible liquefied gas configured to generate heat upon ignitionthereof. For example, in some implementations, the liquefied gas maycomprise one or more of petroleum gas (LPG or LP-gas), propane,propylene, butylenes, butane, isobutene, methyl propane, or n-butane. Instill other implementations, the heat source may comprise a chemicalreaction based heat source, wherein ignition of the heat sourcecomprises the interaction of two or more individual components. Forexample, a chemical reaction based heat source may comprise metallicagents and an activating solution, wherein the heat source is activatedwhen the metallic agents and the activating solution come in contact.Some examples of chemical based heat sources can be found in U.S. Pat.No. 7,290,549 to Banerjee et al., which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Combinations of heat sources are alsopossible. Although specific dimensions of an applicable heat source mayvary, in the depicted implementation, the heat source 408 has a lengthin an inclusive range of approximately 5 mm to approximately 20 mm, andin some implementations may be approximately 12 mm, and an overalldiameter in an inclusive range of approximately 3 mm to approximately 8mm, and in some implementations may be approximately 4.8 mm (and in someimplementations, approximately 7 mm).

Although in other implementations the heat source may be constructed ina variety of ways, in the depicted implementation, the heat source 608is extruded or compounded using a ground or powdered carbonaceousmaterial, and has a density that is greater than about 0.5 g/cm³, oftengreater than about 0.7 g/cm³, and frequently greater than about 1 g/cm³,on a dry weight basis. See, for example, the types of fuel sourcecomponents, formulations and designs set forth in U.S. Pat. No.5,551,451 to Riggs et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 7,836,897 to Borschke etal., which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

In various implementations, the heat source may have a variety of forms,including, for example, a substantially solid cylindrical shape or ahollow cylindrical (e.g., tube) shape. In other implementations, theheat source may comprise a plurality of hollow or substantially solidspheres, which in some implementations may comprise substantially thesame size, and in other implementations may comprise more than one size.In various implementations, the heat source may be made in variety ofways, including, but not limited to, via extrusion, injection molding,compression molding, etc. The heat source 408 of the depictedimplementation comprises an extruded monolithic carbonaceous materialthat has a generally cylindrical shape that includes a plurality ofinternal passages 414 extending longitudinally from a first end of theheat source 408 to an opposing second end of the heat source 408. In thedepicted implementation there are approximately thirteen internalpassages 414 comprising a single central internal passage 414 a, sixsurrounding internal passages 414 b, which are spaced from the centralinternal passages 414 a and have a similar size (e.g., diameter) to thatof the central internal passage 414 a, and six peripheral internalpassages 614 c, which are spaced from an outer surface of the heatsource 408 and are smaller in diameter than that of the central internalpassage 414 a. It should be noted that in other implementations, thereneed not be a plurality of internal passages and/or the plurality ofinternal passages may take other forms and/or sizes. For example, insome implementations, there may be as few as two internal passages, andstill other implementations may include as few as a single internalpassage. Still other implementations may include no internal passages atall. Additional implementations may include multiple internal passagesthat may be of unequal diameter and/or shape and which may be unequallyspaced and/or located within the heat source.

Some implementations may alternatively, or additionally, include one ormore peripheral grooves that extend longitudinally from a first end ofthe heat source to an opposing second end, although in otherimplementations the grooves need not extend the full length of the heatsource. In some implementations, such grooves may be substantially equalin width and depth and may be substantially equally distributed about acircumference of the heat source. In such implementations, there may beas few as two grooves, and still other implementations may include asfew as a single groove. Still other implementations may include nogrooves at all. Additional implementations may include multiple groovesthat may be of unequal width and/or depth, and which may be unequallyspaced around a circumference of the heat source. In still otherimplementations, the heat source may include flutes and/or slitsextending longitudinally from a first end of the extruded monolithiccarbonaceous material to an opposing second end thereof. In someimplementations, the heat source may comprise a foamed carbon monolithformed in a foam process of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No.7,615,184 to Lobovsky, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety. As such, some implementations may provide advantages withregard to reduced time taken to ignite the heat source. In some otherimplementations, the heat source may be co-extruded with a layer ofinsulation (not shown), thereby reducing manufacturing time and expense.Other implementations of fuel elements include carbon fibers of the typedescribed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,901 to Brooks et al. or other heatsource implementations such as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2009/0044818 to Takeuchi et al., each of which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety. Further examples of heat sources includingdebossed heat source systems, methods, and smoking articles that includesuch heat sources are disclosed in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2019/0254335to Spicer et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

Generally, the heat source is positioned sufficiently near an aerosoldelivery component (e.g., the substrate portion) having one or moreaerosolizable components so that the aerosol formed/volatilized by theapplication of heat from the heat source to the aerosolizable components(as well as any flavorants, medicaments, and/or the like that arelikewise provided for delivery to a user) is deliverable to the user byway of the mouthpiece. That is, when the heat source heats the substratecomponent, an aerosol is formed, released, or generated in a physicalform suitable for inhalation by a consumer. It should be noted that theforegoing terms are meant to be interchangeable such that reference torelease, releasing, releases, or released includes form or generate,forming or generating, forms or generates, and formed or generated.Specifically, an inhalable substance is released in the form of a vaporor aerosol or mixture thereof.

Additionally, the selection of various smoking article elements areappreciated upon consideration of commercially available electronicsmoking articles, such as those representative products listed in thebackground art section of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates a longitudinal cross-section view of the cartridge400 of FIG. 11. As shown in the figure, the substrate material 416 ofthe depicted implementation has opposed first and second ends, with theheat source 408 disposed adjacent the first end of the substratematerial 416. Although dimensions and cross-section shapes of thevarious components of the cartridge may vary due to the needs of aparticular application, in the depicted implementation the cartridge 400may have an overall length in an inclusive range of approximately 10 mmto approximately 50 mm and a diameter in an inclusive range ofapproximately 2 mm to approximately 20 mm. In addition, in the depictedimplementation the outer housing 412 may have a thickness in theinclusive range of approximately 0.05 mm to 0.5 mm. Furthermore, in thedepicted implementation the substrate portion 410 may have a length inthe inclusive range of approximately 5 mm to 30 mm and a diameterslightly less than that of the overall cartridge in order to accommodatethe thickness of the housing 412, such as, for example, a diameter in aninclusive range of approximately 2.9 mm to approximately 9.9 mm. In thedepicted implementation, the substrate material 416 comprises tobaccobeads, which may have diameter sizes in range of approximately 0.5 mm to2.0 mm, although in other implementations the size may differ. In otherimplementations, the substrate material may be a granulated tobaccomaterial or cut filler tobacco. Although other implementations maydiffer, in the depicted implementation the outer housing 412 of thecartridge 400 is filled to about 80-90% capacity to allow for insertionof the heat source 408.

In the depicted implementation, the substrate portion 410 comprises asubstrate material 416 having a single segment, although in otherimplementations the substrate portion may include one or more additionalsubstrate material segments. For example, in some implementations, theaerosol delivery device may further comprise a second substrate materialsegment (not shown) having opposed first and second ends. As describedabove, in various implementations, one or more of the substratematerials may include a tobacco or tobacco related material, with anaerosol precursor composition associated therewith. In otherimplementations, non-tobacco materials may be used, such as a cellulosepulp material. In other implementations, the non-tobacco substratematerial may not be a plant-derived material. Other possiblecompositions and/or components for use in a substrate material (and/orsubstrate materials) are described above. Reference is also made to thediscussion above regarding various possible shapes, aerosol precursorcompositions, additives, flavorants, etc. of the substrate material.

In the depicted implementation, the substrate material 416 may comprisea centrally defined longitudinally extending axis between the opposedfirst and second ends, and a cross-section of the substrate material 416may be, in some implementations, symmetrical about the axis. Forexample, in some implementations a cross-section of the substratematerial may be substantially circular such that the substrate materialdefines a substantially cylindrical shape extending between the opposedfirst and second ends thereof. However, in other implementations, thesubstrate material may define a substantially non-circular cross-sectionsuch that the substrate material may define a substantiallynon-cylindrical shape between the opposed first and second ends thereof.Otherwise, in other examples, the substrate material may comprise anasymmetric cross-section about the axis. In various implementations,each end of the substrate material may be in axial alignment withadjacent elements.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the outer housing 412 of the cartridge 400of the depicted implementation is configured to circumscribe at least aportion of the substrate portion 410, including the substrate material416. In the depicted implementation, the outer housing 412 is alsoconfigured to circumscribe a portion of the heat source 408. In someimplementations, the outer housing may circumscribe the entire heatsource (see e.g., FIGS. 9 and 10). In the depicted implementation, theouter housing comprises a rigid material. For example, the outer housing412 of the depicted implementation is constructed of an aluminummaterial; however, in other implementations the outer housing may beconstructed of other materials, including other metal materials (suchas, for example, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, silver, gold,bronze, titanium, various alloys, etc.), or graphite materials, orceramic materials, or plastic materials, or any combinations thereof. Insome implementations, at least a portion of the heat source and/or atleast a portion of the substrate material may be circumscribed by apaper foil laminate. In some implementations, the cartridge may comprisean enclosure comprising a laminate that contains a heat source and abeaded substrate material. Some examples of laminates and/or enclosuresthat may be applicable to the present disclosure can be found in U.S.Pat. App. Pub. No. 2020/0128880 to Gage et al., which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

In the depicted implementation, the outer housing 412 is constructed asa tube structure that substantially encapsulates the substrate material416; however, as noted above, in other implementations the outer housingmay have other shapes. Although the shape of the outer housing may vary,in the depicted implementation the outer housing 412 comprises a tubestructure having an open end and a closed end. The depictedimplementation of the outer housing 412 also includes one or more endapertures 418 located on the closed end of the outer housing 412 thatare configured to allow aerosolized vapor (herein alternatively referredto as a “vapor” or “aerosol”) to pass therethrough. The end apertures418 of the depicted implementation are in the form of a pair of elongaterounded slots; however, in other implementations the end apertures mayhave any form that permits passage of the aerosol therethrough. As such,it will be appreciated that the end apertures 618 can comprise fewer oradditional apertures and/or alternative shapes and sizes of aperturesthan those illustrated.

FIGS. 13-22B illustrate an aerosol delivery device in accordance withanother example implementation of the present invention. In particular,FIG. 13 illustrates a perspective view, and FIG. 14 illustrates a topview, of an aerosol delivery device 500 that includes a holder 600 and aremovable cartridge 300, according to an example implementation of thepresent disclosure. In particular, the holder 600 of the depictedimplementation comprises a main body 602, a mouthpiece portion 604, anouter sleeve 603, and a modular lighter 605, wherein the main body 602defines a proximal end 606 and a distal end 608 (see FIG. 16). In thedepicted implementation, the mouthpiece portion 604 is located proximatethe proximal end 606 of the main body 602, and more particularly, aproximal end of the mouthpiece portion 604 defines the proximal end 606of the main body 602. In the depicted implementation, the mouthpieceportion 604 is integral with the main body 202; however, in otherimplementations, the mouthpiece portion may be removable from the mainbody.

As will be described in more detail below, the outer sleeve 603 of theholder 600 of the depicted implementation is configured to slide over aportion of the main body 602 and is engageable with and removabletherefrom. In the depicted implementation, the modular lighter 605 isseparate from and engagable with the outer sleeve 603. In such a manner,engagement of the modular lighter 605 with the outer sleeve 603, andengagement of the outer sleeve 603 with the main body 602, engages themodular lighter 605 with the main body 602. In various implementations,with a substrate cartridge received within the main body, and with themodular lighter engaged with the main body, the modular lighter may beused to ignite an ignitable heat source of the substrate cartridge.

In the depicted implementation, the outer sleeve 603 includes one ormore openings 609 that are located on the outer housing in a positionconfigured to be proximate the heat source of the removable cartridge300 when the removable cartridge 300 is received in the main body 602,the modular lighter 605 is engaged with the outer sleeve 603, and theouter sleeve 603 is engaged with the main body 602. In such a manner,the openings 609 may provide the heat source with access to oxygen suchthat it remains ignited after lighter portion of the modular lighteractivated. As such, in some implementations, the lighter portion of themodular lighter may activate for a limited period of time. In thedepicted implementation, the openings 609 comprise opposing oval shapedopenings located on opposite sides of the outer sleeve 602.

As illustrated in FIGS. 13 and 14, in the depicted implementation, oneend of the outer sleeve 603 abuts the mouthpiece portion 604 when theouter sleeve 603 is fully engaged with the main body. In someimplementations, the main body and/or the outer sleeve may include oneor more retention features in order to maintain engagement between theouter sleeve and the main body. For example, the outer sleeve and/or themain body may include one or more resilient members, one or moreprotrusions and/or spring features and corresponding detent features,one or more interference fit features, one or more retractable features,one or more magnets, etc. In still other implementations, a releasablescrew-type connection may be used. Combinations of two or more of anyretaining features may also be used.

As noted above, in various implementations the holder (or any componentsthereof) may be made of moldable plastic materials such as, for example,polycarbonate, polyethylene, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS),polyamide (Nylon), or polypropylene. In other implementations, theholder may be made of a different material, such as, for example, adifferent plastic material, a metal material (such as, but not limitedto, stainless steel, aluminum, brass, copper, silver, gold, bronze,titanium, various alloys, etc), a graphite material, a glass material, aceramic material, a natural material (such as, but not limited to, awood material), a composite material, or any combinations thereof. Asnoted above, the mouthpiece portion of some implementations is separablefrom the main body, while in other implementations, the mouthpieceportion may be integral with the main body. In any event, the mouthpieceportion and the main body may be made of the same material or differentmaterials. In various implementations comprising a separable mouthpieceportion, the mouthpiece portion may be coupled to the main body in avariety of ways, including, for example, via one or more of a snap-fit,interference fit, screw thread, magnetic, and/or bayonet connection. Inother implementations, the mouthpiece portion may be integral with themain body and thus may not be separable.

FIG. 15 illustrates a perspective view of the main body 602, outersleeve 603, and removable cartridge 300 of FIGS. 13-14. As illustratedin the figure, the main body 602 includes an opening 610 locatedproximate the distal end 608 and through which a portion of thecartridge 300 is received. In the depicted implementation, the opening610 of the holder 600 leads to a receiving chamber 612 (see FIGS. 22Aand 22B) located within the main body 602. The main body 602 of thedepicted embodiment also includes an aerosol passage 628 that leads fromthe receiving chamber 612 to an opening 615 defined in the proximate end606 of the mouthpiece portion 604 of the holder 600, and through whichaerosol is delivered to a user. In various implementations, a cartridgemay be received by the main body of the holder (and in particular, thereceiving chamber) into a lighting/use position. As will be described inmore detail below, in the lighting/use position the heat source of thecartridge may be ignited, and the ignited heat source may aerosolizesubstrate material contained therein for delivery to a user. It shouldbe noted that although in the depicted implementation, the lighting/useposition comprises a single position, in other implementations, alighting position and a use position may comprise separate positions.

FIG. 16 illustrates the main body 602 of the holder 600 and cartridge300 of the aerosol delivery device 500 of FIGS. 13-14, with thecartridge 300 inserted in the opening 610 of the holder 600, such as tolocate the cartridge 300 into the lighting/use positon. In thelighting/use position of the depicted implementation, a portion of thecartridge 300 is received in the receiving chamber 612 and a portion ofthe cartridge 300 extends outside of the receiving chamber. In thelighting/use position of various implementations, a cartridge may bereceived into the holder to varying degrees. For example, in thelighting/use position of some implementations, less than a half of thelength of the cartridge may be located within the main body of theholder (e.g., less than 50%, less than 40%, less than 30%, less than20%, less than 10%, etc.). In the lighting/use position of otherimplementations, approximately half of the length of the cartridge maybe received into the main body of the holder. In the lighting/useposition of other implementations, more than a half of the length of thecartridge may be received into the main body of the holder (e.g., morethan 50%, more than 60%, more than 70%, more than 80%, more than 90%,etc). In sill other embodiments, the cartridge may be fully received inthe main body (e.g., no portion of the cartridge may extend outside ofthe main body). As will be described in more detail below, in thelighting/use position the lighter portion is configured to ignite theheat source of the inserted substrate cartridge.

In the depicted implementation, the holder 600 includes a cartridgeretention assembly configured to retain the portion of the cartridge inthe receiving chamber in the lighting/use position. In the depictedimplementation, the cartridge retention assembly comprises a magneticretention mechanism, wherein when the portion of the cartridge 300 ispushed into and received within the receiving chamber 612, the portionof the cartridge 300 is magnetically maintained in the receiving chamberand thus temporarily “locked” in place within the main body 202. Forexample, in some implementations at least a portion of the outer housingof the cartridge may be made of a ferromagnetic material, and thereceiving chamber may include one or more magnets. In otherimplementations, however, other retaining features may be used. Forexample, in some implementations one or more retention spheres may formpart of a cartridge retention assembly. In other implementations, acartridge retention assembly may comprise one or more resilient members,such as, for example, one or more O-rings, and/or other retainingfeatures that include one or more resilient features that extend intothe receiving chamber in order to engage a portion of the outer surfaceof the cartridge. In other implementations, an outer housing of thecartridge and/or the receiving chamber may include one or moreprotrusions and/or spring features and corresponding detent featuresconfigured to retain the cartridge in the receiving chamber. In stillother implementations, an inner surface of the receiving chamber mayhave a decreasing diameter (and/or one or more portions having adecreased diameter) that may be configured to retain the cartridge inthe receiving chamber. In other implementations, the holder may includeactively retractable features (e.g., features that are activelyretractable by a user) configured to engage the cartridge to retain itin the receiving chamber. In other implementations, the holder mayinclude one or more wedge features configured to engage and retain thecartridge in the receiving chamber. In still other implementations, oneor more other features of the cartridge and/or one or more features ofthe holder may create a releasable connection between the receivingchamber and the cartridge. For example, in some implementations, thecartridge and the receiving chamber may have a releasable screw-typeconnection. Combinations of two or more of these retaining features mayalso be used.

FIG. 17 illustrates the holder 600 after the cartridge 300 has beenreceived in the receiving chamber and the outer sleeve 603 has beeninserted over a portion of the main body 602. As shown in the figure,the modular lighter 605 of the depicted implementation is configured tobe engaged with the outer sleeve 603. Although in other implementationsa variety of ways of engaging these components are possible, in thedepicted implementation, the modular lighter 605 includes an extendedportion 635 that is configured to be received into a distal end of theouter sleeve 603. In such a manner, once engaged with the outer sleeve603, the modular lighter 605 is in a position configured to ignite theignitable heat source of the cartridge 300. In some implementations, themodular lighter and/or the outer sleeve may include one or moreretention features in order to maintain engagement between the modularlighter and the main body. For example, the modular lighter and/or themain body may include one or more resilient members, one or moreprotrusions and/or spring features and corresponding detent features,one or more interference fit features, one or more retractable features,one or more magnets, etc. In still other implementations, a releasablescrew-type connection may be used. Combinations of two or more of anyretaining features may also be used

FIG. 18A illustrates the modular lighter 605 engaged with the outersleeve 603, and FIG. 18B illustrates the modular lighter 605 separatedfrom the outer sleeve 603, in accordance with example implementations ofthe present disclosure. In the depicted implementation, the modularlighter 605 includes a conductive heating assembly. In the depictedimplementation, a lighter portion of the modular lighter is locatedproximate the ignitable heat source of the cartridge so that onceactivated, the lighter portion of the modular lighter can ignite theignitable heat source of the cartridge 300. As illustrated in FIG. 18B,the conductive heating assembly of the depicted implementation comprisesa conductive heating coil 620 configured to contact the heat source of asubstrate cartridge. In other implementations, the conductive heatingassembly may comprise a heating element configured to be locatedproximate the heat source. In various implementations, the conductivelighter coil may comprise a resistive heater and may be made of avariety of different materials, including, but not limited to, carbon,graphite, carbon/graphite composites, metals, metallic and non-metalliccarbides, ceramics, nitrides, silicides, inter-metallic compounds,cermets, metal alloys, and metal foils. In particular, refractorymaterials are useful. Various, different materials are able to be mixedto achieve the desired properties of resistivity, mass, and thermalconductivity. In specific aspects, metals that are able to be utilizedinclude, for example, nickel, chromium, alloys of nickel and chromium(e.g., nichrome), and steel. Materials that are useful for providingresistance or resistive heating are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,671to Counts et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,093,894 to Deevi et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,224,498 to Deevi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,460 to Sprinkel Jr., etal.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,322,075 to Deevi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,813 toDeevi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,936 to Deevi et al.; U.S. Pat. No.5,498,850 to Das; U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,656 to Das; U.S. Pat. No.5,498,855 to Deevi et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,530,225 to Hajaligol; U.S.Pat. No. 5,665,262 to Hajaligol; U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,692 to Das et al.;and U.S. Pat. No. 5,591,368 to Fleischhauer et al., the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIG. 19 illustrates the holder 600 after the modular lighter 605 hasbeen engaged with the outer sleeve 603, and the outer sleeve 603 hasbeen engaged with the main body 602. FIG. 20 illustrates the holder 600after the modular lighter 605 has been engaged with the outer sleeve603, the outer sleeve 603 has been engaged with the main body 602, andthe modular lighter 205 has been activated. In some implementations, themodular lighter may include an indicator configured to provide visualindication that the lighter portion has been activated and/or is active.

In the depicted implementation, after the ignitable heat source of thecartridge 300 has been ignited, the heat source aerosolizes substratematerial contained in the cartridge 300 for delivery to a user throughthe main body 602 of the holder 600. Although not depicted in thefigures, the holder of some implementations may include one or moreapertures therein for allowing entrance of ambient air to be directedinto the receiving chamber and/or the aerosol passageway (such as, forexample, through the substrate cartridge and/or downstream from thesubstrate cartridge). Thus, when a user draws on the holder (e.g., viathe mouthpiece portion thereof), air may be drawn into the receivingchamber and/or the aerosol passageway for inhalation by the user.

In some implementations, the holder may include an ejection mechanism.In such a manner, the ejection mechanism may be configured to eject acartridge from the holder. FIG. 21 illustrates the main body 602 afterthe cartridge 300 has been ejected from the receiving chamber 612 of themain body 602 through the opening 610. In the depicted implementation,the ejection mechanism is actuated by moving button 607 toward theproximal end 606 of the main body 202, which moves the cartridge 300 inthe direction of the distal end 608 of the main body 602, thusseparating the magnetic retention and eventually ejecting the cartridge300 from the main body 602. It should be noted that in otherimplementations, an ejection mechanism may operate and/or be activatedin other ways. Still other implementations need not include an ejectionmechanism.

As noted, the holder of an aerosol delivery device of variousimplementations of the present disclosure includes a modular lighterconfigured to ignite the heat source of a substrate cartridge. FIGS. 22Aand 22B illustrate schematic views of the holder 600 and cartridge 300of the aerosol delivery device 500 of FIGS. 13-21. In the depictedimplementation, the lighter portion of the modular lighter 605 comprisesa conductive heating coil 620, which is configured to conductivelyignite the ignitable heat source of the substrate cartridge. In otherimplementations, however, an inductive heater arrangement may be used.In the depicted implementation, the modular lighter 605 includes acontrol component 622 (e.g., a microprocessor, individually or as partof a microcontroller, a printed circuit board (PCB) that includes amicroprocessor and/or microcontroller, etc.), and a power source 624(e.g., a battery, which may be rechargeable, and/or a rechargeablesupercapacitor). It should be noted that although in the depictedimplementation the power source 624 and the control component 622 arelocated in the modular lighter 605, in other implementations one or bothof the power source and the control component may be located in theouter sleeve and/or the main body.

In various implementations, the modular lighter and/or the outer sleeveand/or the main body may be characterized as being disposable in thatthe modular lighter and/or the outer sleeve and/or the main body may beconfigured for only a limited number of uses (e.g., until a batterypower component no longer provides sufficient power to the article) witha limited number of substrate cartridges and, thereafter, the modularlighter may be discarded. In some implementations, the modular lightermay have a replaceable power source (e.g., a replaceable battery) suchthat the holder may be reused through a number of power source exchangesand with many substrate cartridges. In other implementations, themodular lighter may be rechargeable and thus may be combined with anytype of recharging technology. For example, the holder may have areplaceable battery or a rechargeable battery, solid-state battery,thin-film solid-state battery, rechargeable supercapacitor or the like,and thus may be combined with any type of recharging technology,including connection to a wall charger, connection to a car charger(i.e., cigarette lighter receptacle), and connection to a computer, suchas through a universal serial bus (USB) cable or connector (e.g., USB2.0, 3.0, 3.1, USB Type-C), connection to a photovoltaic cell (sometimesreferred to as a solar cell) or solar panel of solar cells, a wirelesscharger, such as a charger that uses inductive wireless charging(including for example, wireless charging according to the Qi wirelesscharging standard from the Wireless Power Consortium (WPC)), or awireless radio frequency (RF) based charger. An example of an inductivewireless charging system is described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2017/0112196 to Sur et al., which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety. Further, in some implementations, the mouthpiece portionmay comprise a single-use device. A single use component for use with acontrol body is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 8,910,639 to Chang et al.,which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In someimplementations, the holder may be inserted into and/or coupled with aseparate charging station for charging a rechargeable battery of thedevice. In some implementations, the charging station itself may includea rechargeable power source that recharges the rechargeable battery ofthe device. In the depicted implementation, the modular lighter 605includes a power source 624 that comprises a rechargeable power source,and the modular lighter 605 further includes one or more electricalcontacts 611 configured for recharging the rechargeable power source.

Some additional examples of possible power sources are described in U.S.Pat. No. 9,484,155 to Peckerar et al., and U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2017/0112191 to Sur et al., filed Oct. 21, 2015, the disclosures ofwhich are incorporated herein by reference in their respectiveentireties. Reference also is made to the control schemes described inU.S. Pat. No. 9,423,152 to Ampolini et al., which is incorporated hereinby reference in its entirety. In some implementations a visual indicatormay comprise one or more light emitting diodes, quantum dot-based lightemitting diodes or the like. The indicator can be in communication withthe control component and be illuminated, for example, when the lighterportion is active.

Referring to FIG. 22A, when the modular lighter 605 of the depictedimplementation is engaged with the outer sleeve 603, and the outersleeve 603 is engaged with the main body 602, the conductive heatingcoil 620 is configured to contact at least a portion of the heat source308 of a substrate cartridge 300. As noted above, in the depictedimplementation the conductive heating coil 620 comprises a conductivecoil such that when the modular lighter 605 is engaged with the outersleeve 603, and the outer sleeve 603 is engaged with the main body 602having received a substrate cartridge 300, the conductive coil contactsa portion of the distal end of the heat source 308 of the substratecartridge 300.

In the depicted implementation, the conductive heating coil 620 isactivated automatically when the modular lighter 605 is engaged with theouter sleeve 603 and the outer sleeve 603 is engaged with the main body602. This may be accomplished, for example, via one or more sensors. Inother implementations, however, other methods of activating the lighterportion may be used. For example, in some implementations, activation ofthe lighter portion may occur manually via actuation of an inputelement, such as, for example, one or more buttons.

In some implementations, other input elements may be included (which mayreplace or supplement a sensor, and/or a manually actuated buttonconfigured to activate the lighter portion). Any component orcombination of components may be utilized as an input for controllingthe function of the device. For example, one or more pushbuttons may beused as described in U.S. Pub. No. 2015/0245658 to Worm et al., which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Likewise, atouchscreen may be used as described in U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No.2016/0262454, to Sears et al., which is incorporated herein by referencein its entirety. As a further example, components adapted for gesturerecognition based on specified movements of the aerosol delivery devicemay be used as an input. See U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2016/0158782 toHenry et al., which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.As still a further example, a capacitive sensor may be implemented onthe aerosol delivery device to enable a user to provide input, such asby touching a surface of the device on which the capacitive sensor isimplemented. Still further components can be utilized in the aerosoldelivery device of the present disclosure, and otheractuation/deactuation mechanisms, all of which are described above, andwill not be repeated here.

In various implementations, the present disclosure may also be directedto kits that provide a variety of components as described herein. Forexample, a kit may comprise a holder with one or more cartridges. Inanother implementation, a kit may comprise a plurality of holders. Infurther implementations, a kit may comprise a plurality of cartridges.In yet another implementation, a kit may comprise a plurality of holdersand a plurality of cartridges. In another implementation, a kit maycomprise a main body with one or more mouthpiece portions. In anotherimplementation, a kit may comprise a plurality of main bodies. Inanother implementation, a kit may comprise a plurality of mouthpieceportions. In yet another implementation, a kit may comprise a pluralityof main bodies and a plurality of mouthpiece portions. In anotherimplementation, a kit may comprise a main body with one or more modularlighters. In another implementation, the kit may comprise a plurality ofmodular lighters. In another implementation, a kit may comprise aplurality of main bodies and a plurality of modular lighters. In anotherimplementation, a kit may comprise a main body with one or more modularouter sleeves. In another implementation, the kit may comprise aplurality of outer sleeves. In another implementation, a kit maycomprise a plurality of main bodies and a plurality of outer sleeves. Inanother implementation, a kit may comprise a plurality of main bodies, aplurality of modular lighters, and a plurality of cartridges. In anotherimplementation, a kit may comprise a plurality of main bodies, aplurality of mouthpiece portions, a plurality of modular lighters, and aplurality of cartridges. In another implementation, a kit may comprise aplurality of main bodies, a plurality of mouthpiece portions, aplurality of outer sleeves, a plurality of modular lighters, and aplurality of cartridges. Any combination of components described hereinmay also comprise a kit. The inventive kits may further include a case(or other packaging, carrying, or storage component) that accommodatesone or more of the further kit components. The case could be a reusablehard or soft container. Further, the case could be simply a box or otherpackaging structure. In some implementations, a brush or other cleanoutaccessory may be included in a kit. The cleanout accessory may beconfigured to be inserted in a cartridge receiving chamber of theholder, or, in other implementations, inserted in a separate aperturethat enables a user to remove debris from the cartridge receivingchamber.

Many modifications and other embodiments of the disclosure will come tomind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains havingthe benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions andthe associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that thedisclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosedherein and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to beincluded within the scope of the appended claims. Although specificterms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptivesense only and not for purposes of limitation.

1. A holder for use with a removable substrate cartridge having anignitable heat source, the holder comprising: a main body defining aproximal end and a distal end, the main body further defining areceiving chamber configured to receive at least a portion of asubstrate cartridge, and an aerosol passageway that extends through atleast a portion of the main body; a power source; and a modular lighterconfigured to ignite the ignitable heat source, wherein the modularlighter is powered by the power source, and wherein the modular lighteris engageable with and separable from the main body.
 2. The holder ofclaim 1, wherein the modular lighter comprises an inductive heatingassembly.
 3. The holder of claim 2, wherein the modular lighter includesa resonant transmitter comprising an induction coil located proximate atleast a portion of the receiving chamber.
 4. The holder of claim 1,wherein the modular lighter comprises a conductive heating assembly. 5.The holder of claim 4, wherein the modular lighter includes a heatingelement located proximate the ignitable heat source when the modularlighter is engaged with the main body.
 6. The holder of claim 5, whereinthe heating element comprises a heating coil configured to contact theignitable heat source when the modular lighter is engaged with the mainbody.
 7. The holder of claim 1, wherein the modular lighter isautomatically activated when the modular lighter is engaged with themain body.
 8. The holder of claim 1, wherein the modular lighter isactivated via a button after the modular lighter is engaged with themain body.
 9. The holder of claim 1 further comprising an ejectionmechanism configured to eject the substrate cartridge from the receivingchamber.
 10. The holder of claim 1 further comprising a mouthpieceportion.
 11. The holder of claim 10, wherein the mouthpiece portion isintegral with the main body.
 12. The holder of claim 10, wherein themouthpiece portion is removable from the main body.
 13. The holder ofclaim 1 further comprising a removable outer sleeve configured to slideover at least a portion of the main body.
 14. The holder of claim 13wherein the modular lighter and the power source are housed in theremovable outer sleeve, so that engagement of the removable outer sleevewith the main body engages the modular lighter with the main body. 15.The holder of claim 13 wherein the modular lighter is engageable withand removable from the removable outer sleeve, so that engagement of theremovable outer sleeve with the main body and engagement of the modularlighter with the removable outer sleeve engages the modular lighter withthe main body.
 16. An aerosol delivery device comprising: a removablecartridge comprising an ignitable heat source and a substrate portionthat includes a substrate material having an aerosol precursorcomposition configured to form an aerosol upon application of heatthereto from the heat source; and a holder comprising: a main bodydefining a proximal end and a distal end, the main body further defininga receiving chamber configured to receive at least a portion of asubstrate cartridge, and an aerosol passageway that extends through atleast a portion of the main body; a power source; and a modular lighterconfigured to ignite the ignitable heat source, wherein the modularlighter is powered by the power source, and wherein the modular lighteris engageable with and separable from the main body.
 17. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 16, wherein the modular lighter comprises aninductive heating assembly.
 18. The aerosol delivery device of claim 17,wherein the modular lighter includes a resonant transmitter comprisingan induction coil located proximate at least a portion of the receivingchamber.
 19. The aerosol delivery device of claim 16, wherein themodular lighter comprises a conductive heating assembly.
 20. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 19, wherein the modular lighter includes aheating element located proximate the ignitable heat source when themodular lighter is engaged with the main body.
 21. The aerosol deliverydevice of claim 20, wherein the heating element comprises a conductiveheating coil configured to contact the ignitable heat source when themodular lighter is engaged with the main body.
 22. The aerosol deliverydevice of claim 16, wherein the modular lighter is automaticallyactivated when the modular lighter is engaged with the main body. 23.The aerosol delivery device of claim 16, wherein the modular lighter isactivated via a button after the modular lighter is engaged with themain body.
 24. The aerosol delivery device of claim 16 furthercomprising an ejection mechanism configured to eject the substratecartridge from the receiving chamber.
 25. The aerosol delivery device ofclaim 16 further comprising a mouthpiece portion.
 26. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 25, wherein the mouthpiece portion is integralwith the main body.
 27. The aerosol delivery device of claim 25, whereinthe mouthpiece portion is removable from the main body.
 28. The aerosoldelivery device of claim 16 further comprising a removable outer sleeveconfigured to slide over at least a portion of the main body.
 29. Theaerosol delivery device of claim 28, wherein the modular lighter and thepower source are housed in the removable outer sleeve, so thatengagement of the removable outer sleeve with the main body engages themodular lighter with the main body.
 30. The aerosol delivery device ofclaim 28, wherein the modular lighter is engageable with and removablefrom the removable outer sleeve, so that engagement of the removableouter sleeve with the main body and engagement of the modular lighterwith the removable outer sleeve engages the modular lighter with themain body.